Australia is getting serious about making Big Tech pay for news. The government of the country revealed draft law on Tuesday This would require companies like Meta, Google and TikTok to pay for the journalism they aggregate or update, or face a burden on their local revenues.
Communications Minister Annika Wells he 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 revenue of the three platforms unless they entered into commercial agreements with local news publishers. Plus, the more media deals they make, the less they pay. If enough deals are completed, that effective rate drops to 1.5%, which could create between A$200 million and A$250 million back to Australian journalism.
“Journalists are the lifeblood of Australia’s media sector, playing a vital role in informing communities about the news that matters to them,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
It’s the country’s second attempt to force Big Tech to fund journalism. The Australian government introduced the News Media Trading Code, which officially came into force in 2021, requiring platforms such as Google and Meta to pay news publishers. But the original version had a flaw that Big Tech companies could simply remove the news from their platforms to avoid paying. Meta did it in 2024and this move, according to informationsparked extensive work cuts across Australian the journalistic ones.
Meta’s decision to pull news content in 2024 left a fairly obvious loophole in Australia’s media rules. The NBI is the government’s attempt to fix it, and this time, there is no solution. Platforms are taxed whether they carry news or not. The Albanian government first announced the NBI in December 2024 as a replacement for the existing 2021 Code, and the draft law finally landed today.
The inclusion of TikTok marks a notable expansion from the Code. And the draft law specifically excludes AI services. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said at today’s press conference that artificial intelligence is “not within the scope of this measure” because “artificial intelligence is currently being considered through a number of other policy forums, including, for example, the copyright work led by the Attorney General.”
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The Trump administration has consistently opposed digital services taxes on US tech companies, repeatedly threatening tariffs against countries that promote them. More recentlyTrump has warned the UK it could face steep tariffs unless London cuts the digital services tax on US tech giants that derive value from British users, including Google, Meta and Apple.
When a reporter asked about the pushback from the White House, Albanese told the press conference, “We are a sovereign nation and my government will make decisions based on the Australian national interest. We do that across the board.”
If approved in Australia, platforms have until July to comply, the same date the levy starts.
Australia is not alone in this struggle. Canada, Brazil and EU everyone has been focusing on Big Tech over the news, with mixed results. Canada’s 2023 Act prompted Meta to pull news entirely from its platform. Brazil’s bill has been stuck in a 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, Google and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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