Web service provider Yahoo on Thursday announced that it has shut its news websites in India due to the country’s new foreign direct investment rules.
The Yahoo India sites that have been shut down are Yahoo Cricket, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, Entertainment, and MAKERS India.
The FDI regulations mandate that from October 15, digital media companies in India can only accept up to 26% foreign direct investment, subject to approval from the central government, according to News18.
United States-based technology company Verizon Media owns Yahoo.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” the company said. “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.”
The company, however, clarified that the change will not affect Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Search users. E-mail accounts of users on Yahoo Mail will remain the same, it said.
It added that Yahoo Cricket has been impacted by the new FDI regulations as it has a news component.
The company thanked people for their “support and trust” in the brand.
“Yahoo has had a long association with India and we are really proud of the premium, local content we have provided our users here for the last 20 years,” its statement read.
In November 2020, Huffpost India, the Indian arm of United States-based digital media company HuffPost, shut down its operations after six years.
The company had not clarified the reason for shutting down the website. However, The Wire had reported that the closure was a result of the Centre’s decision to cap foreign direct investment in digital media at 26%.
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