Meta plans to deprecate the Facebook News tab in the US and Australia in early April 2024 and stop signing deals for traditional news content in those countries
it was begun for hookups, parties, and puppies but readers and publishers added news in their own posts. News came to depend on Facebook for links and audience — that's why publishers put links there. … Mastodon: Axel Bruns / @snurb@aoir.social : 😣 Literally _everyone_ (except perhaps the hapless Josh Frydenberg) saw this one coming: — https://www.theguardian.com/ ... For some analysis on why Meta doesn't care one whit about news on Facebook, here's some @qutdmrc research @antmandan and I prepared earlier: — https://youtu.be/... X: Paris Marx / @parismarx : At what point do countries outside the US start seriously looking at strangling these platforms, to the point of harsh regulations or bans? It's time to have a real conversation about whether unaccountable private global platforms are worth the tradeoffs. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : @chrizap saw those strong words. Good, they need to follow through for sure. And now I get to have a few of the likely paid shills for Google and Facebook's proxies pop into my timeline for the next few months. Sigh, one already showed up. @jeffjarvis : Facebook's relationship with news was accidental—it was meant for hookups, parties, & puppies. News came to depend on Facebook for links and audience. But news media went after Facebook with #MoralPanic in news columns & lobbyists everywhere. So Facebook returns to happier days. Michael Geist / @mgeist : Throughout the Bill C-18 debate, supporters pointed Australia, claiming Meta was bluffing about removing news links. When asked, I noted different times, different priorities, different law and warned that Meta was unlikely to renew its deals in Australia. https://x.com/... Supriya Dwivedi / @supriyadwivedi : also worth noting that the Meta statement says that they're only going to invest in products that “drive user engagement”...you know what drives user engagement? Harmful and divisive content https://www.cbsnews.com/... @jeffjarvis : “We know that people don't come to Facebook for news and political content.” That's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We assume now Facebook deprecates news links. I liked sharing news there. But I blame journalists for being the first to kiss off Facebook & the 3 billion people there. @chrizap : @jason_kint Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland accused the company of “a dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media”. @cameronwilson : there will be upwards of dozens of people furious about losing the Facebook News tab Supriya Dwivedi / @supriyadwivedi : But this can't be!!! I was told over and over again that Canada had uniquely pissed off Meta and that Meta wasn't — contrary to available evidence — slowly yet surely getting out of the news biz altogether and was simply using 🇨🇦 as a scapegoat https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ ... @jeffjarvis : Facebook's divorce from news continues: Dead news tab; no new deals for “traditional news;” no products made for publishers. Moral to this story: Be careful what you lobby for, publishers. You attacked Facebook on every front. What did you expect? Hugs? https://about.fb.com/... Peter Gallagher / @pwgallagher : “Anthony Albanese has blasted Meta's abandoning of deals to pay for the news content... he labelled the moves as ‘unfair’ and ‘not the Australian way’”. Crikey, what “Australia” does Albanese live in where it's a sin not to subscribe to Fairfax & Murdoch?::https://www.theaustralian.com .au/ ... @fboversight : Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rebuked Facebook's parent company Meta for its decision to pull millions in funding from Australian news organisations, labelling the move “untenable” and flagging action against the tech giant. https://www.theage.com.au/... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : “It seems like profit is their sole objective without any sense of responsibility for what goes on a platform, which is extremely unfortunate behaviour as it's damaging to society.” https://www.smh.com.au/... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : As expected. Showdown time. Facebook and Instagram will presumably block sharing news as in Canada and dare the govt and/or be designated by the govt. Facebook will lose, they can't keep exiting. It's bad for their experience and their audience. Make sure to get their A/B splits. Brian Stelter / @brianstelter : “Meta said on Friday it will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in Australia, France and Germany.” “The owner of Facebook has oft been at loggerheads with Australia over a requirement for it to pay publishers...” https://finance.yahoo.com/... Havee Snowball Chu Chu / @realdrbrendan : As much as I think Facebook is for tools, this is a classic. Meta, via a blog, has told the Australian Government to eff off by not paying for crappy MSM news content. The big ‘scary’ Australian government has lost face: “Meta's decision to no longer pay for news content in... [image] @bloodiedwombat : Well done to Meta for calling the rent-seekers' bluff. Facebook sent clicks to news websites, where the sites have ads & run paywalls. It hasn't stolen a cent of anyone's news revenue, & now the rent seekers will have to live without the traffic. Listen to the piggies squeal! [image] Josh Butler / @joshbutler : 🚨Meta/Facebook is “deprecating” its News tab and won't renew deals with Australian publishers under the News Media Bargaining Code (which gave major outlets big funding) Govt response: “represents a dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media” [image] Misha Saul / @misha_saul : Amazing In for another round of humiliation as the networks send in their ministers to bat for them Mark Di Stefano / @markdistef : Finally Facebook confirms it's not paying anymore money to news publishers. Balls now in the government's court to enforce the code. [image] @cameronwilson : Meta, Facebook's owner, has announced it will not renew or do new deals with Australian news publishers. These deals (reportedly $70m/yr) were signed in response to a law that would force Meta to negotiate with news outlets to pay for news if they didn't do their own deals. [image] LinkedIn: Beth Ashton : As the first social media editor at the Manchester Evening News the relationship between Facebook has been a mainstay of my career, so this death knell feels significant somehow. … Alexandra Wake : To be honest, I don't think any of us in Australia are too surprised. While it might have been heralded as a great deal in many parts of the world, on the ground there were lots of grumbles. … Forums: Hacker News : Meta to Wind Down Its News Feature in the US and Australia r/onguardforthee : Meta on collision course with Australian government after announcing end to journalism funding deals r/australian : Meta on collision course with Australian government after announcing end to journalism funding deals r/australia : Meta to shut down Facebook news tab and end deals funding Australian journalism See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
This completes a retreat that was signaled when Meta told 50 US news partners it would not renew News Tab payments and later shifted resources away from News and Bulletin toward the creator economy. The company had already begun removing news access in Canada amid a publisher-payment dispute.
The move matters because it extends Meta's position that publisher-specific products and licensing are not central to its engagement strategy, while putting renewed pressure on the policy arrangements built around platform support for news.
First-order effects
- Facebook News will be removed in the US and Australia, and traditional-news publishers in those markets lose the prospect of new Meta commercial deals.
- Australian news organisations face the withdrawal of funding tied to existing bargaining-code arrangements, while Meta redirects its product and partnership focus away from news.
Second-order effects
- Publishers that used Facebook distribution and payments must place greater weight on direct audiences and other referral or licensing relationships; the earlier News Corp-Google content partnership illustrates the alternative commercial model available to some publishers.
- Australian officials may revisit their response to platform funding withdrawals, sharpening the conflict between news-sustainability policy and platforms' control over product design.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern persists, mandated bargaining frameworks may secure payments only while platforms retain a news product or a willingness to negotiate, rather than creating durable support for publisher distribution.
- News publishers' dependence on large social platforms becomes less predictable as platforms treat news as an optional category rather than a strategic product feature.
The trend: Large platforms are moving from publisher-funded news integrations toward engagement-led products, testing whether media-policy regimes can compel lasting support without controlling platform interfaces.