Facebook says to launch a subscription-based news service: report

Facebook’s head of news partnerships, Campbell Brown, said at a industry conference in New York that the social networking giant will launch a subscription-based news product later this year, according to a report from The Street.

The Street said the feature is set to be built on top of Facebook’s “Instant Articles,” which aggregate stories from various publishers, depending on a reader’s preferences.

It added that Facebook planned to build a paywall that will require readers to become subscribers to the service after accessing 10 free articles. The service will direct readers to news publishers’ home pages. Initial tests will begin in October.

Facebook’s plans, announced Tuesday, come as the news industry is struggling to remain solvent in the face of free distribution of its information through the internet. Online distribution has also blurred the lines between legitimate news and fake news.

Earlier this month, the industry banded together and asked for a limited antitrust exemption from the U.S. Congress in a bid to fend off growing competition from large social platforms like Facebook and Google.

Brown told CNBC previously Facebook was “committed to helping quality journalism thrive” on its platform.

Click here for the full report from The Street on Facebook’s planned subscription service. Source: CNBC