This Month
Shein’s Australian sales top $1b in online fast-fashion surge
Revenues at the Singapore-headquartered ultra-cheap goods retailer soar 25 per cent over the last year as local rivals struggle in a cost-of-living crunch.
TikTok, Meta, Snapchat demand answers on YouTube ‘sweetheart deal’
The tech giants say Michelle Rowland’s unexplained favouritism towards Google’s video platform undermines new social media age restriction laws.
How Hollywood learnt to love video games
While superhero franchises flag, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ shows the industry has finally cracked the formula for translating popular games into films.
Dubai chocolate sparks pistachio shortage as TikTokers go nuts
A TikTok craze has helped drive pistachio kernel prices from $US7.65 a pound a year ago to around $US10.30 a pound now as importers scramble for supplies.
US Supreme Court temporarily blocks deportations of Venezuelans
The court issued the decision after lawyers asked it to intervene on an emergency basis, saying the men faced imminent deportation without judicial review.
YouTube exemption exposes teen social media ban as a sham
The government’s preferential treatment of YouTube undermines the purpose of its under-16s social media ban, and is unfair to the other tech industry players.
‘A bouncy castle of idiocy’: The top political TikToks reviewed
We asked two advertising veterans to review the major parties’ highest performing TikToks. Here’s their verdict.
Rowland gave YouTube a personal exemption guarantee from social ban
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland wrote to YouTube’s global chief to reassure him the platform would not be covered by a contentious social media ban.
TikTok is flooded with how to buy cheap luxe goods vids. Thank Trump
As luxury goods are set to be hit with steep tariffs, TikTok creators are purporting to let their audiences in on fashion’s worst-kept secret.
Mark Zuckerberg takes stand to defend Meta against antitrust suit
The US government has contended that Meta illegally cemented a social media monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp when they were tiny start-ups.
China TikTok influencers mock US consumers over trade war
The viral videos aim to “expose” how Western customers are paying too much for their Lululemons and Nikes given how cheaply they are made in China.
Does anyone want to run Vanity Fair?
The editor-in-chief is stepping down, and the global search for her replacement has begun. But many of the more decadent parts of the job are long gone.
Singing in English a ‘blessing and curse’ for Oz music: Grammy boss
The president of the Recording Academy says singing in English can be a disadvantage outside America – but Australia’s music industry can conquer it.
Box office smash ‘A Minecraft Movie’ ends Hollywood dry spell
Weekend ticket sales in the United States were set to total $257 million, analysts said, nearly double the expected amount, giving Hollywood a badly needed hit.
Amazon adds eleventh-hour intrigue to TikTok acquisition drama
Even if the tech giant’s bid fails to gain traction inside the White House, its interest could compel other suitors to pay more.
ASX wipes $38b; Australia’s ‘bizarre’ 29pc tariff; Scyne slashes staff
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Influencers in parliament? The outrage is as tired as it is sexist
The response to female influencers in Parliament House was extravagant and patronising. Confirmation that the political class still thinks young women shouldn’t worry their pretty little heads about money.
March
Labor’s latest excuse for YouTube ban exemption
New documents reveal a third reason the Albanese government has exempted YouTube from its social media ban for people under 16: “Broad community sentiment.”
Under fire Facebook returns to its roots: Showing posts from friends
After years of pushing suggested content to users, Facebook has now added a separate news feed featuring posts shared only by people’s friends and family.
Influencers invited on campaign trail in election first
Canberra press gallery membership will no longer be a prerequisite to join the travelling pack with “content creators” boarding the bus for the first time.