🏛️ U.S. Digital Push, China’s Apps Soar, Trump’s Tech Bet
Good morning. It’s Friday, January 24. Today we are covering:
Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology
The secret sauce of Chinese social media apps
Trump is becoming the technoking of America
Google agrees to crack down on fake reviews for UK businesses
We need to put human creativity at the center of adtech
Let’s dive in
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Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology
The White House
President Biden issued an executive order to promote U.S. leadership in digital assets and financial technology, emphasizing responsible growth, innovation, and the protection of economic liberty.
Key policies include supporting blockchain innovation, safeguarding the sovereignty of the U.S. dollar, ensuring fair access to banking, and prohibiting the establishment or use of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) within the United States.
A President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets has been established to recommend federal regulatory frameworks, evaluate a national digital asset stockpile, and ensure transparent oversight in digital financial markets.
𝕏: Trump’s #crypto executive order EXCLUDES the Fed & FDIC from the digital asset working group. Both tried to kill the industry thru #debanking & especially targeted my company, @custodiabank. Both belong on the outside. - Caitlin Long (@CaitlinLong_)
The secret sauce of Chinese social media apps
By Tiffany Ap via Rest of World
Chinese social media apps, such as Xiaohongshu and Lemon8, are thriving by integrating e-commerce and entertainment, leveraging hyper-targeted algorithms that drive both user engagement and impulse purchases.
Platforms like TikTok and its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, have pioneered social commerce models, generating billions in revenue through features like livestream shopping and algorithmic discovery, outpacing Western competitors focused on advertising.
Western platforms are struggling to replicate the success of China's shoppertainment approach, with apps like Instagram and YouTube experimenting unsuccessfully, as their algorithms prioritize social networking over e-commerce.
𝕏: “Western apps are going to be playing catch-up for a very long time, no matter what happens to TikTok.” Why Chinese social media platforms attract global users - Anup Kaphle (@AnupKaphle)
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Trump is becoming the technoking of America
By John Thornhill via Financial Times
President Donald Trump announced the Stargate AI infrastructure project, a $500 billion initiative backed by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, aimed at reasserting U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence and technology.
Trump has rescinded previous AI safety measures, pursued Big Tech deregulation, and prioritized technological supremacy over China, drawing support from tech billionaires like Larry Ellison and Sam Altman.
Intense competition among Big Tech companies—driven by colossal AI investments and legal disputes—signals a "Hunger Games" era of rivalry, while critics warn of stifled innovation due to government intervention favoring large firms.
𝕏: “We expect more Hunger Games-style competition between Big Tech, attacking each other’s ‘core’ business, in consumer tech hardware, cloud services, content and ecommerce.” (And jocking for Trump’s favour.) - Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (@rasmus_kleis)
Google agrees to crack down on fake reviews for UK businesses
By Jess Weatherbed via The Verge
Google has committed to stricter measures in the UK to combat fake reviews, including banning repeat offenders, deactivating suspicious businesses’ review capabilities, and adding warning alerts to profiles engaging in fraudulent practices.
The agreement with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) requires Google to report its compliance over the next three years, ensuring transparency and improved consumer trust.
While these changes currently apply only to the UK, they build on global adjustments Google made to its review policies last year to ensure contributions reflect genuine experiences.
We need to put human creativity at the center of adtech
By Chris Gadek via Fast Company
The adtech industry is criticized as "stale" and overly fragmented, with many companies offering similar solutions, such as A/B testing and analytics, without delivering genuine innovation or tackling problems creatively.
The current emphasis on technological hype, like blockchain and generative AI, often leads to products with little utility or market fit, further stagnating the industry.
To revitalize adtech, human creativity must be prioritized, focusing on imaginative, meaningful solutions that address real-world challenges rather than relying on iterative or derivative approaches.
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Trump signs executive order on developing artificial intelligence ‘free from ideological bias’
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