Adam Mosseri, head of Meta’s Instagram, said Monday that the app will focus on prioritizing original and creative content in its algorithmic rankings in 2025.
TakeAway Points:
- Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, announced Monday that the social media platform will prioritise original and creative content in its algorithmic rankings starting in 2025.
- Mosseri’s remarks precede a possible TikTok ban that is scheduled to go into force on Sunday.
- In a video he uploaded detailing Instagram’s goals for the year, he made the remarks.
- Apple’s new levies for app developers have come under fresh investigation from the European Union’s antitrust regulators on worries it will raise prices for software makers
Instagram head Mosseri says app will prioritize original content
His comments came in a video Mosseri posted outlining Instagram’s priorities for the year, which include improving social connections for users.
“Instagram was really founded on the idea of allowing anybody to share something creative that they were proud to share,” Mosseri said in the video, which was posted on Instagram and Meta’s Threads micro-blogging app. “We want to double down on that.”
Mosseri’s remarks come ahead of the potential TikTok ban, which is set to take effect Sunday. Already, TikTok creators have begun asking their fans to follow them on other apps, including Instagram. After the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case involving the future of TikTok on Friday, executives at Instagram held impromptu meetings, instructing staffers to prepare for a potential influx of new users if the ban goes through, CNBC reported Sunday.
To prioritize original content, Instagram will focus on improving its creative tools so they are best in class, which they are not currently, Mosseri said. Instagram will also embrace new technology that can make it easier for users to post more content, such as artificial intelligence.
As a way of spurring additional connections, Mosseri said Instagram will look for opportunities to make recommending content more social and interactive.
Apple’s new fees for app developers are under fresh EU scrutiny
Apple’s new fees for app developers have come under fresh scrutiny from the European Union’s antitrust regulators on concerns it could inflate costs for software makers, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
The regulators have recently circulated a new round of questionnaires focusing on Apple’s new “core technology fee,” the report said.
EU’s fresh scrutiny also comes at a time when Big Tech bosses have urged President-elect Donald Trump to challenge EU’s regulatory scrutiny against American technological firms.
Apple and the European Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The company’s shares were down 1.8% in early trading.
The new charge of 0.50 euros ($0.5102) per installed app levied on developers was introduced by the company to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The DMA imposes what the world’s largest tech platforms can and cannot do and can impose fines up to 10% of a company’s annual revenue.
Regulators are checking whether the re-jigged levies could be passed on to consumers or if developers may have to tweak their own business models due to Apple’s new fee structure, the report said.
They also asked whether the firm’s prediction that the new system will help reduce costs for developers is accurate or not.
The Cupertino, California-based company has faced mounting pressure from regulators in the U.S. and Europe over the fees it charges third-party developers distributing apps through the App Store. It says 85% of developers on its App Store do not pay any commission at all.
