2024-03-02 13:44:13
Media wants the authorities to oblige “Meta” to give money for journalistic articles
Facebook parent company Meta is ending support for news content in the US and Australia, its management announced on Friday.
The tech giant launched the Facebook News tab in 2019 in 5 countries. At the time, Mark Zuckerberg’s company commented that they hoped the service would help “sustain great journalism and strengthen democracy.” In September however, the social network announced that they are suspending the service for the UK, France and Germany.
“Meta” explained that in April they were removing the tab in Australia and the US, as too few users use Facebook to read news. According to data, the number of people using the service fell by 80% in 2023 in both countries, and news content is an extremely small part of the overall user experience – less than 3%.
Meta assured that this decision will not affect the existing contracts with the publishers until they expire. The deal for millions included a number of media giants – “Wall Street Journal”, “Vogue”, “Guardian”, “New York Times” and others.
Meta’s decision not to pay for news content was heavily criticized by Australia. Launching the News section there was part of Facebook’s response to the News Media Bargaining Code, which required tech companies to pay publications to use links to their material.
“Meta’s decision to no longer pay for news content represents a disregard for its commitment to media sustainability,” Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said. She said the suspension of the service removes “a major source of revenue for Australian media businesses” who “deserve fair remuneration for the content they provide”.
The Media Alliance – the largest trade union of journalists in Australia, questioned whether “Meta” is even interested in journalism: “Facebook should compensate news organizations for making money from their journalism”, they pointed out from there, adding, that “if he does not do so voluntarily, the government must use the powers it has to compel him”.