(Details and context added to paragraphs 4, 6 and 7)

Sept 5 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms META.O said on Tuesday it would remove the “Facebook News” feature from its social media app in the UK, France and Germany by the end of this year.

Users will still be able to see links to news articles and European news publishers will still have access to their Facebook accounts and pages after the change is implemented in December, Meta said.

However, Facebook will not enter into new commercial agreements for news content on “Facebook News” and will not offer innovations to news publishers in these countries.

“Facebook News”, which provides a feed for news articles, is a dedicated tab in the bookmarks section of the Facebook app.

“News makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook News Feed, so news discovery is only a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people. “Meta said in a blog post.

Like Alphabet GOOGL.O, the company has come under increasing pressure from lawmakers around the world to share a greater percentage of its ad revenue with news publishers.

Meta began blocking news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for all users in Canada in response to a new law requiring internet giants to pay news publishers. Australia implemented a similar law in 2021.