A tech cold war intensifies: A federal order protecting US tech interests highlights anxiety over China surpassing the US as a global tech superpower. Some weaknesses are closer to home.

Digital trust is the confidence people have that a platform will protect their information and provide a safe environment for them to create and engage with content. Our sixth annual benchmark survey of US social media users reveals that trust in social media platforms has declined substantially this year in key areas including privacy, safety, and ad relevance.

User trust in the major social platforms is down this year, according to our sixth annual benchmark survey, especially in the areas of privacy, safety, and ad relevance. Trust affects ad engagement, and in a year when ad revenue growth is slowing for many platforms, it’s imperative that they stem the declines.

Pinterest’s new “Don’t Don’t Yourself” ad campaign highlights the platform as a site for genuineness and creativity, while hinting at the darker sides of other social media networks.

On today's episode, we discuss what to note about TikTok's ascent, how much time on social media is spent watching video, and the discrepancy between TV and connected TV ad spend. "In Other News," we talk about how Instagram Reels' engagement stacks up against TikTok's and whether ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) ad spending can overtake traditional TV ad spend by 2025. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jasmine Enberg and Paul Verna.

The personal luxury goods sector is riding a wave of high demand in the US and China, buoyed by wealthier consumers who are relatively immune to the impact of price increases. But brands will need to appeal to the rising Gen Z consumer, as well as strengthen loyalty among their most important customers.

Meta seeks secrets: The social media behemoth is asking rivals for confidential information in its lawsuit to prove it isn’t a monopoly. The strategy could backfire, leading to more lawsuits or intensifying regulation.

TikTok's popularity has translated to explosive growth in TikTok’s ad revenues. This year, TikTok will net $5.96 billion—more than Twitter and Snapchat combined.

Reports that Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are abandoning some of their shopping features are not a reflection of the platforms’ overall commerce ambitions. But as social commerce buyer growth slows, brands should focus more on reengaging existing customers and less on direct buying capabilities like native checkout.

It’s not the fastest-growing channel, but paid search is still a vital component of the digital advertising ecosystem, especially as privacy changes and a potential recession put ad budgets in jeopardy.

Last week, Twitter finally announced a “share” button for its Android app. The feature’s already standard in iOS, making Twitter really, really late to its own game. It’s just the latest example of a social media platform chasing revenues from competitors. Apps aren’t above copying off a classmate’s paper to get ahead.

We’ve increased our forecast for US influencer marketing spend for next year from $4.6 billion to over $6 billion, following TikTok’s explosion.

Facebook is still the king of social commerce in the US. More than 60% of US social media users ages 14 and older will make a purchase via the platform this year, and about 40% will do so via its sister app Instagram. TikTok will grow the fastest in this regard, drawing nearly one-quarter of social buyers in that age group.

Instagram retreats from social commerce: The move comes a little more than a month after parent company Meta reported its first year-over-year revenue decline this quarter.

A new set of digital winners is emerging amid the market turmoil of 2022. Using our forecasts, we showcase how ecommerce, social media, fintech, and more are being transformed.

On today's episode, we discuss Facebook's plan to be cool again, Amazon testing a TikTok-style feed, what to make of the price of Netflix with ads, WhatsApp's superpowers in India, TikTok and YouTube making TV their new home, an unpopular opinion about ad-free social media, the most livable cities in the world, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha and analysts Evelyn Mitchell and Max Willens.

Triller’s in trouble: Despite a $200 million raise, legal turmoil has eliminated any comparisons to TikTok.

See our latest industry KPIs for TikTok.

Our inaugural forecast for retail ecommerce sales by product category in Brazil will help retail professionals understand the current state of the country's ecommerce ecosystem. We also look at the 10 categories driving growth in 2022 and beyond.

Across the board, links in creator bios are the most popular form of TikTok creator marketing. Duets and stitches, where creator content and brand content are joined in the same video, are also popular among mid-size businesses. This type of content, which is relatively inexpensive but requires original content in addition to creator content, ranks lower with small and large businesses.