Australia passes law forcing Big Tech to pay for news or face levy

Proceeds from the levy will be directed towards supporting Australian journalism and news production. Companies covered include Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn.

To avoid paying the levy, platforms must secure agreements with at least eight Australian publishers before the end of their reporting period. The value of those agreements can then be offset against their levy liabilities.

What Happened

The legislation also seeks to support smaller publishers by offering larger incentives for deals with regional and independent media organisations. Spending on agreements with small and mid-sized publishers qualifies for a larger offset than deals struck with major media companies.

• The law, known as the News Bargaining Incentive, imposes a 2.5% levy on advertising revenue generated in Australia by eligible technology companies unless they enter into commercial arrangements with news publishers.

• The rules apply to digital platforms operating a significant search or social-media service in Australia and earning more than A$250 million in local advertising revenue.

• Australia became the first major country to introduce a mandatory news bargaining framework in 2021, triggering a public showdown with Google and Meta.

Key Details

The legislation marks the latest evolution of Australia's campaign to channel digital-platform revenues back into news publishing. At the time, Facebook temporarily blocked news sharing in Australia before restoring services following negotiations with the government and publishers.

• While the legislation targets social-media and search platforms rather than AI companies, it reflects broader efforts by governments to rebalance the relationship between technology firms and journalism.

• The measure also comes as publishers globally grapple with declining referral traffic from social platforms, reduced news visibility in feeds, and the growing impact of AI-driven search and content-discovery tools on traditional news consumption.

• Countries including Canada and several European jurisdictions have introduced or explored mechanisms aimed at compelling digital platforms to compensate news publishers, but Australia's latest model goes a step further by directly tying a levy.

Why It Matters

The issue regained urgency in recent years after Meta chose not to renew several commercial news agreements signed under the earlier framework, arguing that news content made up only a small portion of activity on its platforms. The move raised concerns among.

• The Australian law is being closely watched by governments and publishers worldwide.

• The government described the measure as an important step for the sustainability of Australian journalism and local news businesses.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Storyboard18 as more details emerge