Yahoo shuts down content ops in India due to new FDI regulations

Yahoo has stopped publication of its content in India from today (August 26, 2021). The content offerings closed include Yahoo News, Yahoo Cricket, Finance, Entertainment and MAKERS India. Yahoo has cited the new FDI regulations by the Indian Government regarding foreign ownership of media companies that operate in the country for this move.

Users who tried to open the Yahoo home page today couldn’t find it. Instead, they were greeted by a message that said: “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.”

The FAQ page provided detailed information about Yahoo’s decision. Yahoo further stated, “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 added that limiting foreign ownership in the ‘News and Current Affairs’ space had impacted its products – Yahoo Cricket, Finance, News, Entertainment, and MAKERS India.

Giving the reason for shutting down Yahoo Cricket, the Internet major explained that since Yahoo Cricket had 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.

The new FDI regulations stipulate up to 26 per cent FDI for digital media companies in India. The new FDI regulations that will come into effect in October 2021.