Australia passes law to levy tech giants that fail to pay for local news
The law sets a 2.5% levy on major platforms unless they strike deals with at least eight Australian news publishers.
- On Thursday, Australia passed the News Bargaining Incentive, legislation forcing tech giants to pay levies unless they strike commercial deals with local media outlets for news content.
- The law closes a five-year dispute by removing Meta's strategy of avoiding payment by simply not carrying news, a tactic that undermined the previous News Media Bargaining Code.
- Platforms including Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn with over $178 million in Australian advertising revenue face a 2.5% levy; any single deal with publishers is capped at 25% of liability.
- Assistant Daniel Mulino said the tax targets "the part of the business that uses the news," while proceeds fund the News Journalism Payments scheme supporting small and regional outlets.
- AI firms remain exempt from the scheme despite training on similar journalism, while Meta argues the levy breaches the free trade agreement between Australia and the United States.
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Australia passes law to levy tech giants that fail to pay for local news
Australia passed legislation on Thursday that will force tech giants to pay millions of dollars in levies if they fail to strike commercial deals with local media outlets for news on their platforms.
Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn now face an Australian news law whether they carry news or not
Australia’s parliament passed the News Bargaining Incentive on Thursday, closing a five-year argument that began when Meta worked out it could avoid paying for news by simply not carrying any. The new law removes that option. Platforms with a significant search or social media service in Australia and more than A$250mn (about $178mn) in local […] This story continues at The Next Web
People access the news in different ways and through different sources, so we have modified the distribution system to better support smaller and more diverse media organizations," said Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells.
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