Canberra (Australia): The Australian government has unveiled draft legislation aimed at taxing major digital platforms, including Meta, Google, and TikTok, a portion of their domestic revenue to support the news industry. Released on Tuesday, the proposed “News Bargaining Incentive” would impose a 2.25% tax on the Australian revenue of tech giants that fail to strike commercial deals with local news publishers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the move, stating that investment in journalism is vital for a healthy democracy and that multinational corporations should not profit from creative content without providing appropriate compensation.
This legislative push marks Australia’s second major attempt to compel platforms to pay for news content, following the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code. While that code initially led to several commercial deals, platforms have recently avoided renewing them by removing news from their services. Under the new proposal, companies that reach agreements with publishers would receive tax offsets to lower their overall costs. The government estimates the initiative could generate between 200 and 250 million Australian dollars annually, which would be distributed to news organizations based on their number of employed journalists.
The proposal has met with sharp criticism from the tech sector. Meta described the move as a “digital services tax” that creates a news industry dependent on government subsidies, while Google rejected the necessity of the tax, arguing it ignores existing commercial agreements and shifts in the advertising market. Despite potential friction with the United States—as the targeted companies are all American—Prime Minister Albanese emphasized that his government would make decisions based strictly on the Australian national interest. The legislation is expected to be introduced to Parliament by July 2.
