Meta aims to distance itself from news-related regulations and payment complexities by removing the news tab on Facebook in the U.S. and Australia, the company announced today, with plans to sunset the product in April 2024.
Last year, Meta discontinued Facebook News in the U.K., Germany, and France, reallocating resources “to our products and services people value the most.” The recent announcement carries a similar tone.
The social media giant noted an 80% decline in the number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. over the past year.
“We persistently endeavor to harmonize our investments with the preferences of our users. Our priority is to dedicate our time and resources to enhancing the content and features that resonate the most with our community. This includes prioritizing short-form video content, which users have expressed a strong interest in seeing more of on the platform,” the statement read.
Last year, Meta disclosed that news accounts for less than 3% of the content users see on the feed, suggesting that users may not notice its removal. Publishers have also observed a decrease in referral traffic from Facebook over the years.
The decision to shut down Facebook News is influenced by regulatory changes and Meta’s shift away from investing in new products. Legislation in Australia and Canada prompted authorities to demand platforms pay online publishers for their content, leading Meta to block news links for Canadian users in August last year.
Meta clarified that the announcement does not impact current deals with publishers until they expire. In Australia and the U.S., users can still share news on their feeds, and publishers can manage their pages and post links.
Moreover, Meta stated its intention not to invest in new news-related products.
“Additionally, to ensure that we continue to invest in products and services that drive user engagement, we will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these “Nations worldwide will refrain from introducing any fresh Facebook offerings explicitly designed for news publishers in the forthcoming period,” it announced.
Consistently, Meta has scaled back efforts towards news. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, stated last year that the company would not “amplify news” on Threads, a social network launched in the same period.
