We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #451

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The UK ASA rules on influencers’ brand partnerships
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that influencers should follow the same rules and regulations as celebrities when it comes to brand partnerships. The decision was made after the influencer, ThisMamaLife – who has just over 30,000 followers – posted an ad for Phenergan Night Time sleeping tablets. The ASA said that they considered ThisMamaLife to be a celebrity for the purposes of the CAP Code, as they have the “attention of a significant number of people” – which obviously could apply in cases where there are significantly fewer followers involved.

US lawmakers ask Facebook to put cryptocurrency project on hold
In the US, House Democrats have requested that Facebook puts a hold on the development of its proposed cryptocurrency, Libra, as well as its digital wallet, Calibra, until Congress and regulators have time to investigate the possible risks. In a letter to Facebook’s senior leadership, Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House of Financial Services Committee, wrote: “Because Facebook is already in the hands of over a quarter of the world’s population, it is imperative that Facebook and its partners immediately cease implementation plans until regulators and Congress have an opportunity to examine these risks and take action.”

Instagram introduces new Chat Sticker for Stories
Instagram has unveiled its latest Sticker for Stories which lets users invite their followers to join a new group chat. The new feature, called Chat Sticker, lets users place a sticker on their Story which friends can tap to request access to the chat. The owner of the group chat can then choose who they want to let join.



Snapchat launches its next big in-app game, Bitmoji Tennis
Snapchat has released Bitmoji Tennis, an in-app game which lets users pit their Bitmoji likenesses against each other on the virtual court. The game gives users the option to challenge friends to matches, practice in solo mode, or even hold group tournaments where the winner of each match progresses to the next round. Bitmoji Tennis is the latest significant release on Snapchat’s games platform, which it first announced at its Partner Summit back in April.



Snapchat celebrates the 4th of July with new Landmarker Lens
Snapchat helped visitors to Liberty Island celebrate the 4th of July in style last week, with its new Landmarker Lens which saw the Statue of Liberty brought to life with patriotic fireworks in the background. To activate the Lens, users simply needed to open the rear-facing camera as they approached the Island, tap on the background to access Lenses and swipe to the Landmarker Lens in the Carousel.