Source: Yahoo Finance
Meta is set to discontinue the dedicated News tab on Facebook in some European countries. The company will stop offering this feature in the United Kingdom, France and Germany by December 2023. This move is aimed at reallocating resources toward more popular content formats, particularly short-form video content.
Meta’s decision to discontinue the News tab in Europe reflects a strategic shift away from the news business. Per a recent CNBC report, the move follows Meta’s decision to make news inaccessible on Facebook and Instagram in Canada.
The Facebook News tab debuted in 2019 as a feature designed to provide users with high-quality news content. It was created through partnerships with reputable news organizations to ensure credible news sources.
Meta has stated that its users are not particularly interested in news content. Per its data, the News section makes up less than 3% of what users around the world consume in their Facebook feed.
The company has assured that the changes affecting the Facebook News feature will not alter Meta’s products and services in these nations. Users will continue to have access to links to news articles on Facebook.
News publishers in Europe will not lose their access to Facebook Pages accounts where they will be able to post links to their stories and direct people to their websites. News publishers in these countries can still use Meta’s ad system and products like Reel to reach a wider audience and attract traffic to their websites and are not required to share any revenues derived from outbound links on Facebook.
Source: Yahoo Finance
