It’s Wednesday and U.K. police felt compelled to release a statement reassuring residents after a TikTok trend spread fears of an out-of-control Cat in the Hat.

BAN BACKFIRE

The report: When the Australian government announced sweeping restrictions on youth social media access, the goal was to keep kids safe from harmful content. That law has been in effect for roughly nine months now—and things aren’t going so well.

According to data provided by software company Qustodio, Australian kids and teens are still accessing their favorite social media apps and, among some age groups, social media usage has actually gone up.

Qustodio collected anonymized screen time data from 19,000 Australian families. Within that sample, 26% of teens between the ages of 13 and 15 are currently active on TikTok (compared to 27% before the ban) and more 10-to-12-year-olds are active on TikTok than they were in the pre-ban era.

The data is even more telling on the Australian version of WhatsApp. About 27% of Australian 13-to-15-year-olds were active on Meta’s messaging service before the ban; now, that figure sits at 36%.

The context: The tech companies targeted by the Australian law have tried to comply with it, but they’ve also criticized the ineffectiveness of the measure. Qustodio’s findings suggest that those naysayers have a point. Whether through dummy accounts, VPNs, or other means, Australian youngsters are finding their way back to their feeds.

Australia’s teen social media ban isn’t the only one backfiring, either. Indonesian channels aimed at young viewers are surging in our Global Top 50 ranking, even though officials in Jakarta followed Australia’s lead this past March. In the growing number of countries that are restricting youth social media use, it’s clear kids aren’t staying off the apps.

GOING LIVE

The newsletter: TikTok is giving creators a new resource for streaming tips and tricks. Substack is the home of The Creator’s Cut, a newsletter that shares best practices related to TikTok LIVE.

The Creator’s Cut will keep new streamers in the loop by discussing the TikTok LIVE community, highlighting ascendant streams, and keeping tabs on upcoming events. Each installment of the newsletter will feature input from creators who have taken “unexpected paths” to LIVE.

The context: Leading social media companies often use official newsletters, channels, and podcasts to communicate with creators and viewers. YouTube, for example, has turned the Creator Insider channel into an official mouthpiece, while Twitch has adopted a similar strategy through its Patch Notes podcast.

For TikTok—which has seen its once-maligned comms improve since the arrival of former Disney exec Zenia Mucha—The Creator’s Cut could provide a valuable connection to its creator community. Ultimately, however, the new newsletter is made for and by creators. Much like YouTube’s Brand Deal Desk, The Creator’s Cut offers a mix of promotion and content advice.

Its readers aren’t guaranteed to become streaming sensations—but at least they’ll learn more about TikTok’s lucrative live format.

BRING THE DRAMA

The downloads: Microseries are everywhere. Hollywood studios are signing lengthy production deals, digital platforms are adding microseries hubs, brands are making their own microsoaps, and late-night TV is parodying it all.

But is that hype translating to significant viewer engagement? According to new data from Mintegral, the answer is a positive-leaning maybe. The AI-powered advertising platform reports that downloads for microseries apps reached 1.45 billion in the first half of 2026, a 95.5% YoY jump from the first half of 2025.

Those stats are especially impressive when compared to other app types. Mintegral says non-gaming applications averaged growth of 16.6% in the same time period. After microseries apps, the next-highest-growth category was education apps, with a 25.3% YoY jump.

The top downloaded microseries app was FreeReals, with 195.8 million downloads.

The ad density: Mintegral’s data on advertising is even more dramatic. Despite seeing an overall decrease in downloads, ecommerce apps ran the largest volume of ads in the first half of 2026 (13.3 million total, across 12,800 apps). During the same time period, 1,887 microseries apps ran 3 million ads—meaning the category had higher ad density (aka the number of ads divided by the number of platforms).

In fact, microseries apps had the highest ad density of any app category across multiple regions, hitting 977 in North America and 1,100 in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region. For comparison, ecommerce apps had an average ad density of 545 in Europe, 804 in Southeast Asia, and 581 in Asia-Pacific.

Mintegral’s data on microseries points to increased engagement from both brands and viewers. But in order to truly judge whether microseries apps are retaining eyeballs, we’ll have to see watch time metrics—not just downloads.

WATCH THIS 👀

The partnership: As a press release from KFC points out, “America's longtime love of ranch was on full display this summer” as World Cup visitors geeked out about the U.S.’s signature condiment. Now, the fast food chain is teaming up with one of America’s favorite streamers to promote its new take on an old classic.

In a recent Short, IShowSpeed donned a red-and-white cowboy outfit and leaned into the thirst to promote KFC’s new Hot Ranch Big Dip. Fans might not be used to seeing the creator decked out in leather and fringe, but we can’t say we’re surprised by the collab; after all, if anyone can bring “Hot Ranch Big Dip Energy” to the short-form screen, it’s Speed.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.