Facebook is Trying to Win Back Younger Users Amid Looming Ban on TikTok

Facebook is reportedly trying to secure more users back into the platform as younger users flock away from TikTok amid its looming ban in the US.

According to Bloomberg, Facebook's parent company, Meta, has been revamping the social media's feed with a "broader array of posts and videos" to better appeal to younger users.

Since the White House passed the law banning all ByteDance-owned apps in the US, Facebook has reported a steady increase in users, along with revenues and ads, from the US and Canada.

Instagram's user count also experienced a huge jump as Gen Zs and Gen Alphas moved towards a more stable platform.

To accommodate more users coming from TikTok, Meta has been prioritizing its "Recommendation" algorithm.

The company has also released Reels to ease users familiar with TikTok's short video format on Facebook's feeds.

Looming Ban Haunts TikTok's Growth

While still the most commonly used app in the US, there is no denying that the looming ban has halted TikTok's growth over the past months.

TikTok's ad and e-commerce sales noticeably slowed down last March as Congress pushed the ban on all ByteDance apps in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Sources told the WSJ that the platform's American userbase growth has started to stagnate, either due to its previous issues or the upcoming ban on the app.

A recent survey from Axios has also shown a downward trend in people's trust in TikTok as more lawmakers came forward to denounce the current state of the app, primarily safety and security concerns.

Legislators argued that US users' data on TikTok could be exposed to the Beijing-based ByteDance and the Chinese government.

TikTok has repeatedly refuted the accusations, claiming that all data and algorithms from its US platform are stored in Texas-based Oracle's cloud servers.

Despite market uncertainties, TikTok repeatedly insisted that it would not sell its US division to an American company as advised by lawmakers and instead try to secure its position through the legal court.

Facebook Still Have an AI Infestation Problem

Moving to Facebook may seem a good alternative, but the platform is far from perfect.

As other people have noted, Facebook is currently infested with bot accounts farming engagements and likes through AI-generated images.

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Thanks to Facebook pushing its algorithm to users' feeds, the AI posts continue to pop in people's recommendations due to artificial interactions.

The platform also remains the primary hotbed of disinformation as "fake news" and political misinformation surge with the upcoming 2024 Elections.