Latest FDI rules force Yahoo to shut down news websites in India

Yahoo has shut down its news websites in India due the new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules that limit foreign ownership of media companies that operate and publish digital content in India.

This includes Yahoo News, Yahoo Cricket, Finance, Entertainment and MAKERS India. This, however, will not affect users’ Yahoo e-mail, and search experiences in India.

“As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account, Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership,” a notice on the Yahoo website said.

US tech major Verizon had acquired Yahoo in 2017.

In the FAQ section, Yahoo said effective August 26, 2021, the company has ceased publication of content in India and has shut down Yahoo’s content operations in the country.

“We did not come to this decision lightly. However, Yahoo India has been impacted by changes to regulatory laws in India that now limit the foreign ownership of media companies that operate and publish digital content in India. Yahoo has had a long association with India and we’re really proud of the premium, local content we have provided our users here for the last 20 years,” it said.

It added that given that Yahoo Cricket has a ‘news’ component, “it was impacted under the new FDI regulations that limit foreign ownership of media companies that operate and publish digital content in India in the ‘News and Current Affairs’ space”.

Thanking all its users in India for the “support and trust” over the past two decades, it noted that it remains “open to opportunities that connect us to users here”.

As per the new FDI regulations that will come into effect in October, digital media companies in India can accept up to 26 per cent investment in the form of foreign investment, subject to approval from the central government.

“In case you are a Yahoo Mail user, this change does not affect you in any way. This development does not impact our products Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Search, where we will continue to serve users in India as before, without any change,” it said. Business Standard