In early April 2024, Facebook will discontinue Facebook News, a dedicated tab spotlighting news in the bookmarks section on Facebook, in the US and Australia. This follows the deprecation of Facebook News in the UK, France, and Germany announced in September 2023.
This decision is part of an ongoing effort to realign investments with products and services that users value most. Facebook aims to focus resources on features such as short-form video, based on user feedback. The usage of Facebook News in Australia and the US has declined by over 80% in the past year. It’s recognized that users primarily use Facebook for social connections and discovering interests, rather than for news and political content.
Despite discontinuing Facebook News, Meta’s products and services in these countries will remain unaffected. Users can still view news article links on Facebook, and news publishers will retain access to their accounts and Pages to post links and drive traffic to their websites. Publishers can leverage products like Reels and the ads system to reach broader audiences and direct traffic to their sites, retaining 100% of the revenue from outbound links on Facebook.
The announcement does not alter existing Facebook News agreements with publishers in Australia, France, and Germany, as these deals have already expired in the US and the UK. Additionally, Facebook will refrain from entering into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not introduce new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future, ensuring continued focus on products driving user engagement.
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