It seems Meta is turning further and further away from its news ambitions. Between threatening to block news altogether in parts of the US (or all of it), Canada, and more, the company has had a rocky history with hosting news in general. Now, the company plans to remove the News tab in some of the largest European Markets.
In an unsigned blog, the company says that "in the UK, France and Germany we will deprecate Facebook News – a dedicated tab on Facebook in the bookmarks section that spotlights news – in early December."
But while the dedicated News tab will leave the site, the news itself won't. Facebook users will still see news links posted by outlets, shared by other users, and naturally, news publishers get to keep Pages and are encouraged to share Reels.
Much of the world likely won't know the difference, as Meta only rolled out the News tab in Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, and France. Only Australia and the US will keep the News tab with this move, but even now, it's often buried behind a "see more" expansion menu.
Meta admits this move is in part to push short-form content. "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. 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 states that "[n]ews makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed," which may also explain the company's desire to leave the news behind. For now, the company promises to honor its existing Facebook News deal obligations in the UK, Germany, and France. Once those deals expire, it won't renew or enter into new commitments.