Earlier this year, social media company Meta decided to remove the built-in News tab on Facebook and Instagram in Australia.

Facebook’s News tab was removed in France, the UK and Germany in 2023.  Meta claims to have come to this decision due to low user engagement with politics and news content on their websites.  However, Meta’s removal of the news tab means that they won’t have to pay news publications for using their content.

This decision stands to harm smaller publications that rely on the whims of social media algorithms to help them spread their work and build an audience.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Jakraphong Photography

Produced By: Steven Samaras

Featured In Story: Dr David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity – Griffith University

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 24 September 2024