WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Meta Platforms Inc. (META) has announced that it will remove its Facebook News tab in the bookmarks section for users in the U.S. and Australia. The announcement comes just months after the company did the same in the UK, France, and Germany.
Facebook's News tab was launched in 2019 with millions of dollars in content deals for publishers. However, Meta now says it will 'deprecate' Facebook News in the US and Australia in April. The company won't enter new commercial deals for news, and it 'will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future.'
The company said it is part of an 'ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most.'
'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 number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. has dropped by over 80% last year. 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 we previously shared in 2023, news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed, and is a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people,' the company said in a statement.
Further, the Facebook-parent noted that the announcement would not affect its existing Facebook News agreements with publishers based in Australia, France, and Germany.
The company also added that it will invest in products and services that drive user engagement, will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future.
When launched in 2019, Facebook had then said, 'Facebook News was built to bring people closer to the stories that affect their lives. We'll continue to learn, listen and improve News as it rolls out more broadly. We hope this work aids in our effort to sustain great journalism and strengthen democracy.'
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