KUALA LUMPUR – Meta will remove its news tab from Facebook in Australia and the US starting from April, and stop paying media organisations for news.
A statement by the social media giant yesterday said this is meant to better align its investments to products and services that “people value the most”, noting that news content is only less than 3% of what users see in their Facebook feeds.
“(News) is a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people,” Meta said.
Additionally, the number of people who use the Facebook news tab – a dedicated tab with current headlines and topics curated for the user – has dropped by 80% over the last year in Australia and the US.
“We know that people don’t come to Facebook for news and political content – they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests.
“As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short form video.”
The move will not affect news organisations’ ability to continue sharing news articles on Facebook on their accounts and pages. Users will also still be able to post links to news reports.
“News organisations can also still leverage products like Reels and our ads system to reach broader audiences and drive people to their website, where they keep 100% of the revenue derived from outbound links on Facebook,” Meta said.
Last year, Meta had announced that it would cease the Facebook news tab in the UK, France and Germany.
Its announcement concerning Australia today drew immediate backlash from the government, with assistant treasurer Stephen Jones calling Meta’s decision “a dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media”.
Jones added that Canberra is seeking advice from the Treasury and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission over the development.
Australia has been in the lead with legislation requiring Meta to pay publishers for news content.
In Malaysia, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has said local media lost about RM2 billion in annual advertisement earnings to Meta, Google and TikTok, and urged newsrooms to negotiate with the social media platforms.
He also said the proposed Malaysian Media Council, to be established by an act of Parliament, is meant to address the issue of advertising revenue for media organisations. – March 1, 2024