The Friday Five: Australia set to ban children from using social media, Eurostar’s misleading ads and why Temu is under scrutiny

Hello and welcome back to The Friday Five. 

We’ve got a jam-packed edition this week, bringing you the most interesting digital marketing stories.

In today’s Friday Five, we dive into Australia’s bold new social media ban, explore the European Commission’s investigation into Temu, and uncover the ASA’s crackdown on Eurostar’s misleading ads. Plus, we’re highlighting how AI-driven campaigns are transforming engagement and breaking down YouTube’s latest features for creators.

So grab a coffee and settle in -  let's get started! 

1. Australia to ban under 16s from using social media: Is it the right move? 

The Australian government has plans to introduce new legislation that will ban those under 16 from using social media. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed that the new law aims to protect young people from online ‘harm’ and support parents who are concerned about their children's safety. 

The proposed law will make social media platforms responsible for taking steps to enforce these regulations and the ban will not apply to those under 16 who already have social media accounts. The ban will not be mitigated by parental consent. 

Despite many in support of the ban, some have expressed concern that the law will only delay children’s exposure to harmful social media content and it might be more useful to educate children on how to navigate the complex online world. 

To read more on this story please visit BBC News

2. EU vs Temu: The e-commerce giant’s growth comes under scrutiny 

Last week, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into Temu’s digital user engagement strategies and compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The investigation began because of Temu’s rapid growth in EU users since its launch in 2023; the platform has now reached 92 million users and the European Commission questions whether regulatory compliance is sacrificed when scaling rapidly. 

The EU will assess Temu in four main areas: compliance with EU product standards, potentially addictive design elements, transparency in recommendation systems and adherence to DSA regulations. 

The DSA aims to ensure digital platforms operate safely and transparently, so if Temu are found in violation, they could face penalties in multiple DSA articles. 

Discover more on MarketingTech

3. Eurostar faces criticism after misleading users on social media

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticised Eurostar for misleading users with social media ads offering £39 seats from London to Amsterdam and Brussels.  

The ads, live on Instagram and Facebook, received complaints as they suggested there was widespread availability of cheap seats but didn’t mention there were specific travel dates when these seats were available. 

Following complaints, the ASA found that the amount of seats available at this price was insufficient to support the claim of widespread availability. Despite Eurostar arguing back, the ASA remained strong in its position and stated that moving forward Eurostar needed to make claims and specific travel dates clear. 

Learn more about this story at The Guardian

4. Yum Brands finds success with AI-driven marketing campaigns

Yum Brands (the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) has reported that AI-powered marketing is significantly enhancing consumer experience and driving more transactions. 

Chris Turner (Yum Brands’ CFO) announced the success of AI-driven campaigns in the company’s Q3 update by stating the campaigns ‘increased consumer engagement leading to increased purchases and a reduction in consumer churn’. 

Yum Brands doesn’t plan on stopping using AI anytime soon with over 40 AI-driven projects underway

Read more at Marketing Dive

5. YouTube rolls out several new features to enhance creator analytics 

In an attempt to stay competitive, YouTube is introducing new features to help enhance customer analytics and engagement; the key update is the ‘data stories’ feature, where creators will be able to see a breakdown of video performance within the first 24 hours. 

Compared to a traditional dashboard, the new feature will present data in a narrative format, so creators can easily digest and understand key performance metrics.

As well as this, YouTube is improving the ‘Community’ tab by adding a ‘most relevant’ comment filter; it will highlight viewer interactions to support effective customer engagement. The updates don’t end there and YouTube is working on tweaking features and providing more opportunities to improve functionality. 

To learn more, please visit the Search Engine Journal

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Have a great Friday and an even better weekend. We’ll be back next week with the next edition of the Friday Five.

Catch you then!