Meta announces the removal of Facebook News in the US and Australia, ceasing financial agreements with News outlets

In a significant shift in its operational strategy, Facebook, owned by Meta, has decided to discontinue its News tab feature in the US and Australia by April 2024. This move marks the end of the platform’s financial agreements with major news publishers, including powerhouses like CNN and the New York Times. The decision reflects Meta’s broader pivot away from news content towards prioritizing the Creator economy and short-form video content.

Launched in 2019, Facebook News was initially introduced as a dedicated space within the app to provide users with news content from a variety of sources. The launch involved lucrative deals, reportedly including $10 million for the Wall Street Journal, $20 million for the New York Times, and $3 million for CNN. Despite these investments, Meta has now stated that it will not pursue new commercial deals for news content nor develop new Facebook products specifically for news publishers.

This strategy realignment is not without precedent, as Facebook has previously moved away from news-focused initiatives like Instant Articles. The shift in focus was further signaled by the departure of Campbell Brown, the former head of news partnerships, last October. Meta’s diminishing interest in news content is part of a larger trend that includes a greater emphasis on short-form video and content that drives user engagement.

Meta has justified its decision by citing data suggesting that news content constitutes less than 3 percent of the global Facebook feed, asserting that news is a minor component of the overall Facebook experience for the majority of its users. The company has encouraged publishers to continue engaging their audience on Facebook through other means, such as Reels and traditional advertising, to drive traffic to their websites.

The termination of Facebook’s news licensing deals has been anticipated in the US, where the company ceased these agreements two years prior. However, the change will be more abrupt in Australia, where Facebook has been compensating publishers to the tune of $70 million annually under deals brokered in response to Australia’s News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. These agreements, set to expire soon, were part of a contentious negotiation that briefly led Facebook to impose a news ban affecting pages of government organizations and nonprofits in Australia.

As Facebook transitions away from formally curating news content on its platform, the move has sparked discussions about the future of news consumption on social media and the financial implications for news publishers previously supported by Meta’s licensing fees.