As it prepares to delete the news tab from Facebook in the United States and Australia, Meta is attempting to disassociate itself from laws pertaining to news media and payment issues. The product will be discontinued in April 2024, the business announced today.
With the statement that it want to concentrate resources “to our products and services people value the most,” Meta terminated Facebook News in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France last year. The most recent announcement has a similar tone.
According to the social media giant, 80% fewer people in Australia and the United States were using Facebook News a year ago.
This is an aspect of our continuous effort to better match our investments with the products and services that consumers find most valuable. The business stated, “We have to concentrate our time and resources on content that users have indicated they would like to see more of on the platform, especially short-form video.
Less than 3% of the content that users see on the feed consists of news, according to Meta last year. Users are probably not going to notice this change. Publishers have also noticed a decrease in Facebook referral traffic over time.
Meta’s decision to stop investing in new goods and regulatory actions are to blame for Facebook News’ closure. Authorities in Australia and Canada have asked platforms to pay internet publishers for their content as a result of laws they passed. In August of last year, the business began to block links to news sources for users in Canada.
According to Meta, the agreements the company now has with publishers are unaffected by today’s news until they expire. Additionally, publishers will be able to manage their sites and post links there, while users in Australia and the US will be able to share news on their feeds.
The business made it clear that it has no intention of making investments in brand-new news-related goods.
It further stated, “We will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries, and we will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future, to ensure that we continue to invest in products and services that drive user engagement.”
Meta stopped from regularly dedicating resources to news. Last year, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, declared that the firm would “not amplify news” on Threads, the social network it had just introduced.
