TikTok US Ban Delayed for Another 90 Days
TikTok’s ban in the United States has been pushed back again. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week, giving the social media app another 90-day reprieve.
A press release published by the White House stated:
“The enforcement delay specified in section 2(a) of Executive Order 14166 of January 20, 2025, is further extended until September 17, 2025.”
It is now nearly six months since the ban—originally approved by Congress—was supposed to come into force.
Smartphone Users “Fatigued” by News Alerts
Publishers risk losing more readers by pushing too many news notifications. A new study by the Reuters Institute found that ‘alert fatigue’ is a growing issue, with the report's authors warning that publishers are walking a “tightrope.”
Some users receive up to 50 alerts per day, prompting 43% of those who currently receive none to turn them off entirely. However, the expanded reach is difficult for publishers to sacrifice—BBC News alerts, for instance, reach 4 million people.
YouTube Shorts Hit 200 Billion Views Milestone
YouTube’s Shorts have proven to be a highly successful spin-off format. The bite-sized, scrollable videos now generate over 200 billion views daily. Shorts were first launched to counter the growing popularity of platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Perhaps unexpectedly, YouTube revealed that TV—rather than mobile—is now the top viewing method for the platform’s most popular channels. These insights were shared at a media conference in Cannes last week.
Bluesky Briefly Suspends JD Vance’s Account
JD Vance received a memorable welcome to Bluesky last week. The US Vice President was temporarily suspended just 12 minutes after posting a comment about a Supreme Court ruling on gender-affirming care for minors.
Bluesky later clarified that its automated systems had flagged the account for impersonation, not for his views. Nonetheless, Vance has since become the most blocked user on the left-leaning platform.
Search Volatility Heats Up Again, But No Sign of Major Update
Google search ranking volatility is increasing once more. However, SEOs are still waiting on the year’s second core update. Google’s first major update of 2025 rolled out in March, three months ago.
Several tracking tools have recorded rising volatility. SEMrush, for example, reported a score of 8.1 (very high) on 18 June. Many users have also reported fluctuations in web traffic.
Threads Bug Turns Feeds into Literal Echo Chambers
Threads turned users’ feeds into literal echo chambers last week. People saw the same post reposted repeatedly by different accounts, as if everyone had collectively hit copy and paste. One user feed was flooded by a surreal yet relatable post: “Siri, unsubscribe me from 2025.”
Meta has confirmed that it’s aware of the issue and is currently working on a fix.
