Meta has suspended its Facebook news service in the US and Australia.
Revealing the move in a post late Thursday, The Social Network™ has already scrapped its news-only tabs in the UK, France and Germany, and the service’s viewership has fallen by 80 percent in the last year. It was justified on the basis that “it makes up for it.” That’s less than 3% of what people around the world see on her Facebook feed, and for most people, it’s just a small part of her Facebook experience. ”
Meta instead wants to “focus our time and resources on what people want to see more of on our platform, including short-form videos.”
The termination of Facebook News also means the end of Facebook’s contracts with news publishers. And apparently Meta’s position is that these deals (paying publishers for sharing content on the News tab) are also a worthwhile endeavor.
“Facebook is committed to supporting news organizations as they adapt to a changing digital world,” Jesper Dube, director of news partnerships, declared when launching Facebook News UK in November 2020. .
Facebook said at the time that it “continues to work with publishers in countries where market conditions and regulatory environments encourage this type of investment and innovation.”
Um… no, that’s not true. That’s because starting in early April, Facebook News will be discontinued. wherever.
The decision to discontinue Facebook News is particularly important in Australia. In Australia, the service formed as part of the social network’s response to the News Media Bargaining Code, which requires designated tech companies to pay local publishers for the right to use links to their works. Because it was done. This also includes links posted by users.
Meta and Google agreed to make these payments without being formally designated.
Zack’s Shop has now announced that it intends to cease doing business with the publisher, leaving the Australian government with the option of designating Facebook as a required entity.
Australian ministers have reportedly signaled their intention to ensure Meta honors past promises to support local media. register‘s Antipodean outpost clearly needs to stock up on popcorn.
Another group likely to express anger over this change is Meta shareholders, who were told just three years ago that Facebook News was an important and valuable product that would improve the service. .
Fast forward to today, and Meta seems to have miscalculated the influence of Facebook News and focused on ensuring it can compete with TikTok’s attention-grabbing videos. ®
boots notes: register is not a type of retailer covered by either the Meta Payment Scheme or Australian legislation. Therefore, we report this story without being influenced by Zack’s decision.
