Meta to halt funding Australian news, sparking criticism

The government and media have criticized Facebook parent company Meta for stating that it will no longer enter into deals to pay news publishers in Australia.

The tech giant stated in a blog post on Friday that Meta will not be renewing its funding agreements with traditional news content and that it "will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future" to ensure that it can "continue to invest in products and services that drive user engagement." 

According to Meta, current contracts with publishers will remain in effect until they expire.  

In April, Meta announced that it would also discontinue its news tab in Australia and the US, following the feature's removal in the UK, France, and Germany. 

The California-based company said it was making the changes to “better align our investments to our products and services people value the most”. 

“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, including short form video,” it said. 

“The number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the US has dropped by over 80 percent last year. 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.” 

Meta signed deals with numerous traditional media outlets after Australia passed landmark legislation in 2021 requiring tech platforms to pay for the news content shared on their platforms. 

The introduction of the News Media Bargaining Code, which has been emulated in other jurisdictions including Canada, followed accusations that platforms such as Facebook and Google exploited free news content to hoover precious advertising revenues away from struggling news organisations. 

Meta’s announcement was immediately criticised by the Australian government. 

A "dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media" was how Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones described Meta's move.  

"The government has said clearly what it expects. An important source of income for Australian news media companies is eliminated by the judgment. Rowland and Jones released a statement together saying that Australian news publishers should be fairly compensated for the content they provide. 

Rowland and Jones stated that they would consult Australia's competition watchdog and the Treasury for guidance on the next course of action.  

We will now examine each and every choice made possible under the News Media Bargaining Code. Throughout this process, the government will stay in contact with news outlets and publishers, according to Rowland and Jones. 

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Australia’s biggest union for journalists, questioned whether Meta cares about journalism. 

“Facebook should compensate news organisations for making money from their journalism if it won’t do it voluntarily, the govt should use the powers it has to force it to,” the union said in a post on X.