Social Media

ByteDance ends discordant 2020 on a high note

15 Dec 2020

TikTok's Chinese parent is raising $2 bln at a $180 bln valuation amid U.S. pressure to sell the video unit. The company is also on track to hit a full-year sales target of $30 bln, thanks to its local apps. A booming home market more than makes up for stalled global expansion.

Facebook has court of public opinion to woo, too

9 Dec 2020

A multi-state antitrust lawsuit against the $807 bln social network could drag on for years. Meanwhile what matters most is what users think. Recent revenue trends suggest they’re unfazed. The best way to keep it that way is for Facebook, and its boss, to keep a low profile.

Instead of TikTok, Microsoft can strike a Discord

9 Dec 2020

The software giant lost out on a deal for the viral video app. But a better fit is gaming chat service Discord, valued at about $7 bln. User growth has jumped amid Covid and it’s expanding into education and other areas. That complements Microsoft as its rivals also turn to M&A.

Facebook squeezes in M&A play before game turns

30 Nov 2020

The $791 bln social network bought customer-relations platform Kustomer, which could be worth more than $1 bln. Even with all the pushback, regulatory reviews under U.S. President Donald Trump will be easier than successor Joe Biden. Its streak of buying startups is ending.

Congress repeats Zuckerberg show at its expense

19 Nov 2020

The Facebook boss has been grilled by U.S. lawmakers six times in over two years. Other Big Tech chiefs have also made multiple appearances. Yet politicians have failed to pass any new rules on privacy, content or antitrust. Ineffective hearings cut at Congress’s credibility.

TikTok mess is a trap for America’s next president

11 Nov 2020

A deadline for Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the app’s U.S. business by Nov. 12 may not be binding after Donald Trump lost the election. But the big question remains: what to do with an internet firm that’s deemed a security risk? Joe Biden may not find it any easier to answer.

The Donald Trump show will continue broadcasting

9 Nov 2020

The president may have lost the White House. But an army of Twitter followers and right-wing media will ensure him a platform. That will serve his many interests, from boosting his businesses and staving off looming debt payments to acting as a thorn in the side of his successor.

Corporate America prepares for life in purple

7 Nov 2020

From finance to tech to weed to transport, companies have had plenty of time to consider what a Joe Biden presidency means. Without a clear Senate shift one way or the other, legislative gridlock appears likely. Here is what the 2020 election will mean industry by industry.

Twitter is having its cake and eating it, too

5 Nov 2020

The social network’s label on inaccurate posts by U.S. President Donald Trump might have slowed their spread. Policing lends Twitter some credibility. But misinformation can rise as uncertainty lingers. A too soft approach enables Twitter to benefit from dangerous virality.

Facebook-Instagram can open up instead of break up

2 Nov 2020

U.S. regulators are reviewing the 2012 social media merger. Unwinding deals years later is almost impossible. Busting up what exists today is one option. But forcing tech giants to make switching to rivals easier could be a more productive way to boost competition.

Facebook nears moment when world is not enough

29 Oct 2020

The summer’s ad boycott made no dent on revenue, which grew 22% in the third quarter, and didn’t deter the social network’s users. Facebook’s apps now reach 41% of the global population. Expansion on that front is bound to slow down. Revenue per user will get more important.

Big Tech backlash will hurt Little Tech more

28 Oct 2020

Facebook, Twitter and Google hide behind a law that protects them from liability for toxic content but lets them censor when they see fit. Removing that shield, as some lawmakers want to do, would be inconvenient and expensive for them, but brutal for smaller rivals like Yelp.

U.S. election could be Twitter’s darkest day

26 Oct 2020

The $40 bln firm, Facebook and other online platforms can’t win in the Nov. 3 ballot. Banning political ads and premature claims of victory will be controversial and messy. Breakingviews imagines Jack Dorsey proposing one radical option to Mark Zuckerberg: a temporary shutdown.

Snap reveals Facebook’s fallibility

20 Oct 2020

The $42 bln disappearing-message app posted revenue growth of 52% in the third quarter. It coincided with a boycott of Mark Zuckerberg’s $745 bln platform, which he downplayed. Trouble at TikTok may have helped, but Snap’s smaller size shows cracks harder to see in Facebook.

Lufax may find three’s a China fintech IPO crowd

19 Oct 2020

It’s like the proverbial bus: long waits before multiple new share sales arrive at once. The Ping An-backed outfit, last valued at $39 bln, is touting small-business bona fides to stand apart from Ant and JD Digits. New York could be a tougher venue to make the case, however.

Italian Insta-star IPO to test influencer model

12 Oct 2020

Fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni wants to monetise her lifestyle brand with a market debut worth nearly $100 mln. The social media celeb counts 21 mln fans and links to Dior and Lancôme. A deal would test investor faith that digital-inspired businesses are more than skin-deep.

Everyone looks like a deal amateur in TikTok mess

25 Sep 2020

U.S. orders to divest assets are often straightforward. But dizzying contradictions from both dealmakers and the White House have given ByteDance a free pass around rules to sell TikTok. The resulting chaos obscures the stakes: handling data security and foreign takeover laws.

U.S. WeChat ban adopts China’s Great Firewall

22 Sep 2020

A U.S. judge gave WeChat a break from an order barring downloads to protect national security. But the White House still wants to push out Chinese tech, echoing Beijing bans of American internet firms. It’s a road map for more censorship and ups the ante on online protectionism.

Mulan flounder previews Hollywood’s next red scare

22 Sep 2020

Disney was slammed for shooting the $200 mln movie in restive Xinjiang, yet the release was widely panned in China too. Despite the pandering, Hollywood can’t get what it wants from the film market. Beijing is also unhappy. Studios are next in line for a trade-war screening.

Trump writes cliffhanger into TikTok reality show

18 Sep 2020

The White House will stop Americans from downloading the video app and WeChat, both Chinese-owned. The plot centers on national-security worries but the immediate drama is of the U.S. president's making. Shifting a TikTok deadline past election day adds to the political intrigue.