This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
On August 5, 2020, Instagram launched a new feature called Reels, a short-form video feature that allows users to record and edit videos up to 15 seconds.
Reels is a direct challenge to TikTok, which has been in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to ban TikTok in the United States on national security grounds, giving it until the middle of September to work out a takeover deal with Microsoft or another suitor.
Reels puts an Instagram spin on the kind of playful video snippet sharing that has made TikTok a social media phenomenon. The feature is launching in more than 50 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, India, Japan, and the United States.
“Reels invites you to create fun videos to share with your friends or anyone on Instagram,” Instagram said in a blog post. “Reels is a big part of the future of entertainment on Instagram,” the service added. “Our community is telling us they want to make and watch short-form, edited videos.”
The move fits Facebook’s pattern of copying features that are hits at rival online services. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and the heads of Apple, Google, and Amazon were grilled by a US congressional antitrust committee last week, with Representative David Cicilline saying that the four companies have too much power.
