In today’s digest, we cover YouTube’s ad revenue nearing $10bn while it decides to drop its Barb subscription, the UK putting tech giants’ age checks to the test, and Southeast Asia becoming TikTok’s largest ad audience.

Youtube Ad Revenue Nears $10bn; Drops Barbs Subscription

YouTube is cementing its dominance in the streaming landscape, posting a 13% year-over-year jump in ad revenue for Q2, according to Alphabet’s latest earnings report. The platform brought in USD$9.8bn (£7.6bn) in advertising revenue for the quarter, up from USD$8.7bn (£6.7bn) a year ago, slightly beating analyst expectations of USD$9.6 bn (£7.4bn).

Meanwhile, YouTube has also opted out of its Barb subscription as of 1st July, cutting off media owners’ access to its data. Barb confirmed the move, stating “While Google has previously held a Barb licence in accordance with our rate card, it doesn’t currently have an active licence.” The change does not affect Barb’s measurement of YouTube viewing.

According to a YouTube spokesperson, the decision followed a routine review of the platform’s subscriptions, licences and data suppliers, They commented that YouTube continues to engage with Barb’s executive team to explore “potential partnership opportunities.

UK Puts Tech Giants’ Age Checks to the Test

The UK has officially begun enforcement of its Online Safety Act, placing renewed scrutiny on major technology firms and their reliance on AI-driven and biometric age verification tools to restrict access to harmful or age-inappropriate content for users under 18.

Prominent platforms including YouTube, X, TikTok, and Reddit are required to comply with new UK regulations designed to prevent users under the age of 18 from accessing adult or harmful content. Failure to adhere to these rules could result in penalties of up to £18m or 10% of global annual revenue, whichever is greater.

Ofcom has recommended a suite of what it describes as "highly effective" age-verification mechanisms. These include credit card verification, photo ID scanning, phone and email linkage, and facial analysis technologies that can estimate age based on submitted images or video. However, a number of social platforms have adopted AI-based “age inference” systems, which analyse user behaviour and interaction patterns to determine likely age.

Although Ofcom has not formally endorsed these AI-based approaches, it has stated that its list of recommended tools is not exhaustive. 

SEA becomes TikTok’s largest ad audience

Southeast Asia has emerged as TikTok’s biggest advertising audience globally, accounting for 24.4% of the platform’s total ad reach, according to a report by We Are Social and Meltwater. The region’s dominance surpasses all others, with Thailand ranking second worldwide for monthly TikTok usage, boasting that eight-in-ten users are active on the platform.

The report, which examines global digital and social media trends, highlights Southeast Asia’s rapidly evolving online behaviour. Filipinos lead in online video consumption with over 20 hours per week, nearly doubling the regional average of 11 hours and 39 minutes. Much of this time is spent engaging with short-form content on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Social media has also become an essential step in the consumer decision-making process. In Vietnam and Indonesia, over 80% of users rely on social platforms to research brands. Meanwhile, more than 60% of consumers in Malaysia and the Philippines also turn to social channels for product discovery.

According to Naiyen Wang, Managing Director for Southeast Asia at We Are Social, “This report really drives home how important social media and influencer marketing are becoming in Southeast Asia.”