Crypto News: Social media chaos ahead

Tech Daily has joined the newsletters exclusive to Bloomberg subscribers. As a loyal reader, we'll keep sending it to you until January 3.

To continue receiving Tech Daily after that, subscribe to our new Tech Newsletter bundle — which also includes Q&AI, Power On, Soundbite, Game On, and the articles linked within them. We're offering newsletter readers a limited time rate on the new bundle of $1.99/first 3 months (usually $11.99).

Learn more

Hey all, it's Kurt Wagner in Denver. As we kick off 2025, the social-media landscape could look a lot different a year from now, but first….

Three things you need to know today:

• Tesla investors are awaiting critical delivery figures expected later Thursday
• The US tech stock rally minted a new milestone for the world's billionaires
• IT provider Softchoice is set to be acquired in a deal valued at $1.3 billion

Upheaval awaits

I've covered the social-media industry for more than a decade, and part of why I find it so compelling after all these years is that it's constantly teetering on the brink of chaos.

Some of these head-shaking issues are major and serious, like Meta Platform Inc.'s numerous data scandals or Elon Musk's controversial deal for Twitter. Some of the craziness isn't — remember the Musk-Zuckerberg cage match?

But I rarely get to the end of the year without feeling like something significant happened on this beat. We get more than our fair share of "once-in-a-decade" stories. I think 2025 could be one of the most consequential years yet. The chaos isn't just coming, but in some cases, it's actually being scheduled. Here's a glimpse at the major storylines ahead for the world of social media.

TikTok's Looming Ban

We won't have to wait long to find out what happens to TikTok. The popular video app will be banned on Jan. 19 unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd., finds an American buyer (which it claims it won't) or the US Supreme Court steps in to save the day (which is unexpected). A TikTok ban would pave the way for Meta's Reels or YouTube's Shorts to fill an entertainment void for 170 million Americans. This is the biggest social media story since Musk purchased Twitter in October 2022 and it's all happening very quickly.

X vs. Threads vs. Bluesky

Speaking of Musk, there is suddenly a lot of competition for the app formerly known as Twitter. Since the US election, both Meta's Threads and Bluesky have seen a surge in new users as people look for alternatives to X, which has a polarizing owner and a new right-leaning bent. Will X cede serious ground to one of these upstarts? I've seen a lot of social networks come and go over the years — remember Ello, Google+ and Vine? — but these two appear to have serious momentum. We should know by summer if they're here to stay.

A Major Meta Trial

Things are going well for Meta, which saw its stock climb more than 65% in 2024, so you'd be forgiven if you forgot that the company is also facing an existential crisis. The social-media giant is scheduled to go to trial in April to face the Federal Trade Commission's years-long claim that Meta is a monopoly and needs to be broken up. It's hard to imagine a world in which Instagram and WhatsApp are outside of Mark Zuckerberg's control, but it's a reality the FTC is hoping to create.

The Trump of It All

Donald Trump's first term as US president rocked the social-media world. His aggressive and not-always-accurate approach to posting on Facebook and Twitter put both companies on edge almost constantly. We all remember how things ultimately ended after that first term. Or at least, some of us do. Zuckerberg seems determined to pretend that Trump's ban never happened, and Musk has seemingly taken up residence at Mar-a-Lago. And now Trump owns a platform, Truth Social, where he posts everything from Cabinet nominees to conspiracy theories. There's also plenty of speculation that he may have a say in TikTok's future. There is little doubt in my mind: Whatever storylines emerge in the social-media world in 2025, Trump will be involved.—Kurt Wagner

The big story

AI data centers are sucking up huge amounts of energy in the US. New evidence shows those computing server farms are distorting the supply of electricity for millions of Americans.

Get fully charged

India put into orbit two small satellites for its first space-docking experiment, a key step toward building its own space station.

The changing world of television increasingly pits broadcast networks against local stations in a fight for revenue.

Squid Game's second season has attracted more than 68 million views for Netflix since its debut Dec. 26, topping the company's worldwide streaming charts.