Ofcom reports that roughly 150,000 16- and 17-year-olds in the UK lack a passport or driving licence, which may be required as a fallback for age verification under the country's planned ban on under-16 social media access. The regulator outlined four 'highly effective' verification methods, including photo ID checks, bank age confirmation, digital ID services and facial age estimation, but said official ID would likely be needed as a backstop since facial estimation can be inaccurate by several years. The ban on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube is set to take effect next spring.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-30
Ofcom has published guidance on how social media platforms could check whether users are over 16, ahead of the UK's social media ban taking effect in March. The regulator recommends photo ID matching, banking-based checks, facial age estimation and digital ID services as 'highly effective' options, alongside traditional ID documents. Implementation details are left to individual platforms, and the proposals still require government approval.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-10-29
Videos featuring Christmas cookies are drawing millions of views on social media even though Halloween has not yet occurred, according to reports of the trend. The surge suggests many users are shifting holiday-themed content earlier than the traditional calendar would suggest.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-28
Court filings in an ongoing lawsuit against Meta have surfaced internal documents, after a judge ruled they were not protected by attorney-client privilege despite the company routing related correspondence through lawyers. The documents reportedly reveal internal plans and research touching on how Meta's products affect young users, adding to litigation alleging the company's products harm minors.
cailinoconnor.substack.com
· 2026-10-28
A commentary piece recounts a CVS checkout experience in which a cashier reportedly took a customer's phone number and enrolled them in a paid membership upgrade without asking permission, later confirmed by an automated welcome message. The author uses the anecdote to argue that such practices are pushing frustrated customers to air grievances publicly on social media rather than through traditional complaint channels.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-28
Reddit announced a redesigned homepage with two feed options: 'For You,' which blends posts from joined communities with algorithmic recommendations, and 'Following,' which shows only subscribed communities. The company says the feeds are meant to boost discovery, connection and participation, and users can toggle between them with their last choice remembered on return visits.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-28
A WIRED commentary argues that the modern internet has become toxic, citing Meta and Google settlements over privacy and mental health lawsuits, school smartphone bans, and new under-16 social media restrictions in several countries. It also points to generative AI flooding feeds with low-quality content and Oxford University Press naming 'rage bait' its 2024 word of the year amid reduced content moderation by platform owners.
wired.com
· 2026-10-28
An agency describes shifting a real estate client's social content strategy from general educational posts to what it calls 'decision content,' framing posts around choices like whether a neighborhood is undervalued rather than explaining market trends generally. Over four months, the campaign reportedly generated 818,000 impressions and 25% follower growth for the client.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-27
On October 2nd, as MLB's Division Series began, the league's Instagram and TikTok accounts posted a playoff highlight video scored to Olivia Rodrigo's album track 'My Way.' The clip, featuring players from the Brewers, Dodgers, White Sox and other postseason teams, has drawn more than 2.1 million views on Instagram and 615,000 on TikTok, with fans commenting on the unexpected pairing of baseball and the pop star.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-27
Marissa Mayer, former Yahoo CEO, shared an anecdote describing how she used artificial intelligence to help navigate a parenting moment, intending to demonstrate capabilities of her new startup. The post drew strong negative reactions on social media, with many users expressing discomfort at the idea of outsourcing personal, emotional parenting moments to an AI tool.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-26
Instagram is experimenting with support for longer, widescreen videos, a shift from its traditional vertical, short-form video emphasis. The change would let creators upload content more similar in shape and length to YouTube videos.
entertainment.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-26
Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, told attendees at Entrepreneur's Overcoming Impossible event that his businesses publish 900 pieces of social media content per day, a figure he says he wants to grow to 100,000 daily by next year. He urged business owners selling physical products to use AI tools to mass-produce images and video content and distribute it across YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, while also recruiting TikTok affiliates to sell on commission.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-26
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