News publishers and governments like Australia have argued that Facebook and Google unfairly benefit when links to news articles appear on their platforms.
Meta has been scaling back its promotion of news and politics content to drive traffic, and says news links are now a fraction of users' feeds.
Meta will discontinue a tab on Facebook which promotes news in Australia and the United States, it said in a statement, adding that it cancelled the news tab in 2023 in Britain, France, and Germany.
As a result, "we will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers", the statement added.
The decision pits Meta against the Australian government and its 2021 law.
"The idea that one company can profit from others' investment, not just investment in capital but investment in people, investment in journalism, is unfair," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.
"That's not the Australian way," he added.
This story is from the March 02, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 02, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
VICTORIA'S GOLDEN GOALKEEPER
Deyveekan put off ACL surgery, then puts down RI with 3 shoot-out saves
After 3rd over 1,200m and 2nd over 400m, Burridge’s 3YO aims for Ist in Guineas mile
Trainer Steven Burridge's quest for that elusive three-year-old feature win will come down to one last bullet in the $150,000 Group 2 Singapore Guineas (1,600m) on May 18.
Indonesian group eyes big boost from buying Shell's assets
Chandra Asri expects as much as $13.5b in annual revenue from refining site
US govt says it can prosecute Boeing over 737 Max crashes
The US Justice Department on May 14 said Boeing can be prosecuted for two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago.
Seatrium shares slide on news of removal from MSCI index
Seatrium's strategy to raise the investment profile of the company via a share consolidation received a blow on May 15 when the stock fell sharply following its removal from the closely watched MSCI index.
Huawel takes on Apple with more China flagship stores
Aggressive move to retake crown for premium electronics as it rebounds from US sanctions
At least 10 cars slide and crash at Funan mall's carpark ramp
Mall says incident under probe; affected drivers given assistance
Man's jail term upped for downloading child sex abuse material
Indonesian’s jail time increased from 6 weeks to eight months after appeal by prosecution
Sales of new private homes slump to 4-year low in April
Lack of major new launches, buyers’ fatigue and high interest rates among the factors
Survey finds only 15% here aware of net-zero emissions target
But two-thirds of respondents keen to contribute when told about country’s goal
