2024 was a landmark year in social media regulation. The US Department of Justice’s victory over Google in its antitrust lawsuit, the postponed ban of TikTok in the US, and the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov signaled the end of an era for social media companies. The perceived leniency afforded to them by regulators has been replaced by unprecedentedly stringent rulings.

Scope

This report provides an overview of the social media theme.

It identifies the key trends impacting the growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months, split into three categories: technology trends, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory trends.

It contains details of M&A deals driven by the social media theme and a timeline highlighting milestones in the development of social media.

The detailed value chain comprises five layers: content, distribution, data, services, and customer. Leading and challenging vendors are identified across all five layers.

Key Highlights

2025 may see more severe legislation as Australia’s move to ban social media for those under 16 takes effect while the UK considers banning smartphones in schools. The year may also witness the outcome of Google’s second antitrust lawsuit regarding digital advertising, which could pave the way for more antitrust legislation against Big Tech companies.

Several smaller social networks, such as BlueSky, Damus, and Mastodon, have entered the market following regulatory scrutiny of large social media companies’ business practices and users’ desire for more intimate engagement. The regulatory crackdown on monopolistic behavior means the super-app model pioneered by Tencent in China is unlikely to be as successful in the West. Consumer demand will also impact attempts to build pools of connected apps, such as Elon Musk’s bid to transform X (formerly Twitter) into a super-app to diversify revenue streams away from personalized ads. Consumers’ increased concern about the use of personal data and content moderation will instead see smaller decentralized apps (dApps) become more popular.

Reasons to Buy

The report identifies six main categories of social media players (social networks, discussion forums, media sharing sites, consumer review networks, sharing economy companies, and messaging services) and highlights leading and challenging companies across all six categories.

It also analyzes Big Tech's presence in the social media sector. In most segments, big platforms benefit from network effects, and, thanks to their larger number of users, they are the most attractive to consumers and advertisers. However, smaller networks are gaining popularity due to user concerns about data privacy and content moderation.