The change comes as Australia prepares to pass a law that would require companies like Facebook and Google to pay news publishers to carry their stories.

Facebook's managing director of Australia and New Zealand, William Easton said that the proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between its platform and publishers who use it to share news content.

"It has left us facing a stark choice: attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter",he said.

Before Facebook's announcement Wednesday, Google and News Corp struck a deal through which Google will pay the company -- which owns The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and The New York Post -- to feature their stories in Google News Showcase.

But Facebook said that was different. 

"Our platforms have fundamentally different relationships with news. Google Search is inextricably intertwined with news and publishers do not voluntarily provide their content. On the other hand, publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising revenue."

Easton went on to describe the "business gains" of news on Facebook as "minimal", writing that it accounts for  four percent of content on the platform.