Facebook Owner Meta Angers Australia with Plan to Stop Paying for News Content

Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, announced its decision to halt payments to Australian news publishers for content appearing on its platform, reigniting tensions with Canberra.

Both news publishers and governments, including Australia, contend that platforms like Facebook and Google benefit disproportionately from news content shared on their platforms. Meta’s decision aligns with its strategy to reduce the prominence of news and political content on its platform, reflecting a broader trend of minimizing news links in users’ feeds.

Meta clarified that it will refrain from initiating new commercial agreements for traditional news content in these countries and will not introduce new Facebook products specifically tailored for news publishers, signaling a significant shift in its relationship with the news industry.

Source: Reuters