Australia’s center-left government announced on Thursday its plans to implement new rules that would impose significant charges on major tech companies if they do not pay Australian media organizations for news content hosted on their platforms. This move increases pressure on global tech giants such as Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook) and Alphabet’s Google to either compensate publishers for their content or face hefty penalties to continue their operations in Australia.
“The news bargaining initiative will create a financial incentive for agreement-making between digital platforms and news media businesses in Australia,” stated Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones during a press conference. He noted that these charges would apply to prominent social media platforms and search engines with Australian-based revenue exceeding $250 million. Jones explained that the charges would be offset by any voluntary commercial agreements made between the platforms and news media businesses. However, tech companies criticized the proposal.
A spokesman for Meta stated, “The proposal fails to account for the realities of how our platforms work, specifically that most people don’t come to our platforms for news content, and that news publishers voluntarily choose to post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so.” A Google spokesman expressed concern, warning that the government’s decision “risks the ongoing viability of commercial deals with news publishers in Australia.” This proposed legislation comes as Australia tightens its regulation of the primarily US-based tech giants. Last month, Australia became the first country to ban children under the age of 16 from social media, a move seen as a benchmark for other governments’ approaches to Big Tech.
Additionally, Canberra plans to impose fines on these companies for failing to eliminate scams. Google, ByteDance (owner of TikTok), and Meta would all be subject to the new charges, although X (formerly Twitter) would not be covered, according to Jones. In 2021, Australia enacted laws requiring U.S. tech giants like Google and Meta to compensate media companies for the links that draw readers and generate advertising revenue. After this legislation was passed, Meta briefly blocked users from sharing news articles but later reached agreements with several Australian media organizations, including News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. However, Meta announced it would not renew these arrangements beyond 2024. Additionally, Meta has been reducing its promotion of news and political content globally, claiming that news links now represent only a small fraction of users’ feeds. This year, Meta announced it would discontinue its news tab on Facebook in Australia and the United States, following the previous cancellation of similar features in the UK, France, and Germany.
In 2023, Meta also restricted Canadian users from sharing news content after the government implemented comparable legislation. Australian news organizations, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, are expected to benefit from the new rules. After Jones’ announcement, News Corp Australia Executive Chairman Michael Miller stated he would reach out to Meta and TikTok immediately to seek a commercial relationship with News Corp Australia. “I believe news publishers and tech platforms should have relationships that benefit both parties on commercial and broader terms,” he said in a statement.
About Author
