Super Bowl ads boosted crypto app downloads by 279%, led by Coinbase
Cryptocurrency advertisements took over the commercial breaks during the Super Bowl on February 13. Downloads of cryptocurrency apps have since increased dramatically, with Coinbase leading the pack. According to data collected by Sensor Tower, of the top five apps that experienced the greatest increases in downloads on Super Bowl Sunday, three were cryptocurrency apps. Aside from Coinbase, whose app crashed from the increase in traffic garnered by its Super Bowl advertisement, the other two were eToro and FTX.
Facebook Has a Superuser-Supremacy Problem
How easily misinformation is spread on Facebook has plagued the tech giant for years, and a year-long investigation indicates that the bulk of that misinformation comes from a very small portion of Facebook’s users. The findings report that only about 52 million people actively use Facebook in the United States, which is less than a quarter of Facebook’s self-reported number of users. Even more concerning are statistics showing that 52% of observed interactions on Facebook came from the top 3% of active users. This is partially attributable to how Facebook assigns point values for different types of interactions, with significant comments and messages worth 30 points and likes worth one point each. These “superusers,” according to the report, are the drivers behind most public activity on Facebook, activity that is often harmful, abusive, and prone to misinformation.
UK makes first seizure of NFTs in tax crackdown
After investigations into criminal activity that attempted to shield £1.4 million from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, the department seized three non-fungible tokens (NFTs). While the value of the NFTs themselves is not yet clear, HMRC also seized approximately £5,000 worth of other cryptocurrency-based assets. HMRC’s deputy director of economic crime emphasized that cryptocurrency assets cannot be used to hide money or to further criminal gain.
Social Media Should Censor Itself, Without Government Intervention, Most Americans Say
According to surveys conducted by Ipsos, more than half of all Americans think that social media companies should be actively involved in curbing bad behavior online, such as inciting violence, spreading misinformation, or bulling. While some are concerned with over-censorship, the surveys indicate that people want social media platforms to be taking action against potentially harmful content, even when the government does not require them to do so. These sentiments appear to have grown stronger in the wake of the Capitol riots that took place on January 6, 2021. Less than a quarter of those surveyed responded that the social media companies should engage in no content moderation whatsoever, perhaps indicating a shift towards these platforms’ self-regulation.