Australia forces Big Tech firms to pay for news or face a 2.25% tax

Australia is getting serious about making Big Tech pay for news. The country’s government unveiled draft legislation on Tuesday that would require companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok to pay for the journalism they aggregate or reshare, or face a levy on their local revenues. Communications minister Anika Wells said at a press conference today: “People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok, and from Google.” The proposed law, called the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), would impose a 2.25% levy on the Australian revenues of the three platforms unless they strike commercial deals with local news publishers. Plus, the more deals they make with media outlets, the less they pay. If enough agreements go through, that effective rate drops to 1.5%, which could generate between A$200 million and A$250 million back into Australian journalism. “Journalists are the lifeblood of Australia’s media sector, playing a vital role in keeping communities informed about the news that matters to them,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. It is the country’s second attempt to force Big Tech to fund journalism. The Australian government introduced the News Media Bargaining Code, which officially came into effect in 2021, requiring platforms like Google and Meta to pay news publishers. But the original version had a flaw that Big Tech companies could simply remove news from their platforms to avoid paying. Meta did that in 2024 , and that move, reportedly , triggered widespread job cuts across Australian newsrooms . Meta’s decision to pull news content in 2024 left a pretty obvious gap in Australia’s media rules. The NBI is the government’s attempt to fix it, and this time, there’s no workaround. Platforms get taxed whether they carry news or not. The Albanese government first announced the NBI in December 2024 as a replacement for the existing 2021 Code, and the draft legislation finally landed today. TikTok’s inclusion marks a notable expansion from the Code. And the draft legislation explicitly excludes AI services. Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said at today’s press conference that AI “is not included in the scope of this measure” because “AI is currently being examined through a range of other policy forums, including, for example, the work on copyright being led by the Attorney-General.” The Trump administration has consistently opposed digital services taxes on U.S. tech companies, repeatedly threatening tariffs against countries that push ahead with them. Most recently , Trump has warned the U.K. that it could face steep tariffs unless London drops its digital services tax on U.S. tech giants that derive value from British users, including Google, Meta, and Apple. When a journalist asked about the pushback from the White House, Albanese said at the press conference, “We’re a sovereign nation, and my Government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest. We do that right across the board.” If passed in Australia, platforms have until July to comply, the same date the levy kicks in. Australia isn’t alone in this fight. Canada, Brazil, and the EU have all taken on Big Tech over news, with mixed results. Canada’s 2023 law prompted Meta to pull news from its platform entirely. Brazil’s bill has been stuck in legislative limbo since 2019. The EU has rules on the books, but enforcement varies widely. South Africa may offer the clearest blueprint — regulators there brokered direct deals with Google, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft, securing roughly $40 million for local news outlets over five years. Meta VP of Communication Andy Stone said on X that the proposal is “nothing more than a digital service tax,” adding that news organizations post content on Meta’s platforms by choice. “We don’t take their news content,” Stone wrote. “Yet the tax applies whether or not news content appears on our platforms.” Google also pushed back. “For 20 years, Google has partnered with newsrooms through our products and programs,” a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We remain the only technology company in Australia with commercial agreements supporting more than 90 news businesses and 226 outlets across national, regional, and independent titles.” The spokesperson added that while Google is reviewing the draft legislation, the company opposes the measure. “We reject the need for this tax. It ignores the fact that Google already has commercial agreements with the news industry, misunderstands how the ad market changed and mandates payments from some companies while arbitrarily excluding platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI – despite the major shift in how people consume news.” TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This article has been updated with comments from Meta and Google. Topics Australia , Google , Government & Policy , Media & Entertainment , Meta , news bargaining incentive , TikTok When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Kate Park Reporter, Asia Kate Park is a reporter at TechCrunch, with a focus on technology, startups and venture capital in Asia. She previously was a financial journalist at Mergermarket covering M&A, private equity and venture capital. View Bio October 13 – 15 San Francisco Don’t miss out . 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