Good morning. Yesterday, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel unveiled the new Specs AR glasses, with AI search, built-in GPS, and photo editing capabilities.
Almost 10 years ago, Colin and Samir tried Snap's first smart glasses, Spectacles. The latest version is slightly more understated, but we’re still hoping for an updated selfie.
Today’s lineup:
The UK moves forward with a social media ban
An economics creator signs with CNN
92% of marketers use creators in their strategy
The UK will ban social media for children under 16 / Illustration by Moy Zhong with photography by kaboompics/Pexels
Starting next year, the UK plans to ban social media for all children under 16—implementing more restrictions than any other country with similar legislation so far.
Inside the legislation:
Britain will ban children under 16 from all algorithm-driven platforms including Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook.
Additionally, the measures will ban livestreams and video games that allow children to chat with strangers—something not included in Australia’s social media laws for minors, according to The New York Times.
And: The UK government will decide next month whether to implement online curfews for social media users under 18.
Where we left off: Last December, Australia became the first country to implement a social media ban for users under 16, though many kids were still able to access their accounts through VPNs, fake birthdays, or tricking photo age verification tech. The UK said it has learned from Australia’s experience and will deploy “more highly effective age assurance measures to support compliance.”
Other countries like Malaysia, Denmark, and Spain are starting to roll out similar legislation. And in the US, court cases against platforms (like one California resident’s civil lawsuit alleging Meta and Google caused social media addiction) are setting the precedent that social media is detrimental to young people’s mental health.
“We age gate so many things,” our own Samir Chaudry told us. “We age gate alcohol, driving, cigarettes, and movies. I think exploring what that means [for social media] is important.”
Ripple effect: Social media bans gaining prevalence primarily impact 1) creators with large underage audiences and 2) teen creators. But there are knock-on effects—Samir said he anticipates that one of the largest hits would be to advertisers, who would lose significant portions of their desired audiences. This could lead to a pivot into more IRL campaigns, like pop-ups and experiences, according to Business of Fashion.
Economics Creator Signs With CNN
Kyla Scanlon (left) joins CNN as finance creator, analyst, and contributor / Kyla Scanlon, CNN
Economics creator Kyla Scanlon just signed with CNN as a finance creator, analyst, and contributor. Scanlon, who has gained 400K+ followers making short-form education videos on tariffs, AI, and the economy over the last six years, will now make explainer content across CNN verticals, focusing primarily on CNN Business.
Context: Trust in traditional media is declining—a recent Reuters study found that overall trust in news has hit a record low of 37%, with CNN itself down six points year-over-year. With that shift picking up steam, more traditional media orgs like CNN have adopted creator formats and tapped creators to join their newsrooms.
Breaking it down further: Newpress co-founder and CEO Iz Harris told us at Press Publish LA that the future of media belongs to outlets built around creators:
"Instead of doing the old model of the top-down editorial voice, we turned that upside down and have it be the creator's voice, the creator's style, the creator's vision," Harris said.
CNN appears to be retrofitting its traditional model to fit that bill—launching a CNN Creators show and signing Scanlon to complement their coverage in a way modern audiences can get behind.
Tracking the trend: Digital culture commentator Jules Terpak was a columnist for the Washington Post four years ago—but the pace of these creator x traditional media deals is picking up. Today, both MS NOW and NBC News are building creator content programs.
Sponsored by Cannes Lions
LIONS Creators kicks off in a few days—don't miss your chance to connect with the biggest players in the creator economy.
Across five days, the program brings together the most influential brands, agencies and creators—featuring Hannah Stocking, GK Barry, Steven Bartlett and Max Klymenko—for unrivaled insights for those in the business of influence.
Get stuck into hands-on workshops and interactive sessions, like Creator College Co-Founder Jun Yuh’s workshop on how to convert attention into revenue. These curated moments put you in the driver’s seat in shaping the conversations defining the future of the creator economy.
The week also promises unrivaled networking opportunities. From Adobe's The Creator & Marketer Mixer (Make sure to RSVP at [email protected]) to more relaxed gatherings like Dove's Beautifully Different Happy Hour and the LIONS Creators Party, this is your moment to connect with key decision makers and unlock lasting commercial opportunities.
Cannes Lions | June 22-26, 2026, Cannes, France | Be part of it.
Creators Bring Up to 5X ROI on Marketing Campaigns
Creator IQ finds that brands spend an average of $6.6M on creator marketing annually / Photography by George Milton/Pexels
86% of marketers see 2-5X returns on their investment in creator marketing campaigns, according to a new study from creator marketing analytics company Creator IQ. For reference, paid social ROI averages around 3X, putting creator marketing in the same league, with room to run.
Here’s what else stood out →
77% of respondents noted that creator-led marketing performs better than traditional marketing.
Brands spend $6.6M on creator marketing on average each year.
Financial services and food and beverage have the highest average creator pay of any industry.
Insider info: We’re headed to Cannes Lions at the end of the week to understand how these deals get made at the biggest marketing festival in the world. What are you interested in learning about? Hit reply and let us know.
🔥 Press Worthy
Creator M&A and advisory firm RockWater is hosting a pre-VidCon mixer for B2B creators in LA next week.
Community platform Circle launches a new product suite, Eclipse, that includes new AI tool and course features.
YouTube is launching a live music series called Music Nights with artists including Bleachers and Kacey Musgraves.
Airrack is hosting an auction for items “stolen” in his videos, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.
Twitch rolls out Creator Certification badges to identify which creators are “certified” for brand partnerships.
Comedy creator Lele Pons inks a podcast streaming deal with Netflix and iHeartRadio.
