Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that it will wind down the Facebook News tab in the United States and Australia starting in early April.
The decision to get rid of Facebook News, a dedicated tab on the platform that spotlights news coverage, comes as part of an effort to “better align our investments to our products and services people value the most,” Meta said in a blog post.
“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,” the social media giant said.
“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,” it added.
Meta similarly discontinued the Facebook News tab in the United Kingdom, France and Germany late last year.
The company emphasized on Thursday that Facebook users will still be able to find news on the platform.
“People will still be able to view links to news articles on Facebook,” Meta said. “News publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and Pages, where they can post links to their stories and direct people to their websites, in the same way any other individual or organization can.”
Earlier this month, Instagram announced that it would no longer proactively recommend content about politics on both Instagram and Threads, following similar efforts to limit the amount of political content on Facebook.
Meta noted that the decision to wind down Facebook News will not impact existing agreements with publishers in Australia, France and Germany, while agreements in the U.S. and U.K. have already expired.
The social media giant also said it will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content or offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future.
Meta’s push to move away from news content comes amid efforts in several countries to require major tech platforms to pay news outlets for their content.
An Australian law that took effect in 2021 required both Google and Meta to reach deals with news outlets. Meta briefly blocked Australian users from viewing and sharing news content in response, before reaching an agreement with the Australian government.
A similar battle has ensued in Canada, after the country enacted a law requiring Google and Meta to pay for news content last year. As a result, Meta has blocked news content for Canadian users since August.
The state of California also considered similar legislation last year that was put on hold until 2024.
Updated at 1:01 p.m.
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