Big tech companies could be forced to fund Australian journalism or pay even more in charges, regardless of whether they carry news on their platforms.
The federal government’s plan, outlined in a consultation paper published recently, would charge social media sites and search engines that refuse to strike deals with local news publishers.
While Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino refused to label the measure as a fine, he stressed that the ‘incentive’ would ensure sustainable journalism in Australia.
“Independent, high-quality journalism is absolutely critical for our society. It’s absolutely critical for our democracy,” he says.
The incentive is not designed to raise money for the government, but to encourage tech companies to enter deals with news publishers, Dr Mulino says.
It will be calculated in accordance with a company’s revenue and set at a rate that means the companies would be better off funding journalism than paying the incentive.
Labor’s proposal builds on the former Liberal government’s news media bargaining code, where digital platforms are legally required to negotiate deals with eligible media outlets or face fines of up to 10 per cent of their local revenue.
Though the scheme has helped bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the news sector since its 2021 introduction, it only applies to sites that carried news.
As deals expired, companies such as Meta had begun to de-prioritise journalism: sunsetting Facebook’s news tab and forcing Instagram users to explicitly opt in to ‘political’ content.
In 2024, Meta revealed it would not renew deals with Australian media companies.
The federal government’s latest plan cannot be dodged by withdrawing news from these platforms. It ensures tech platforms would have to cough up in some capacity.
The consultation period will be open until December 19.
A spokesperson from Meta says it will review the proposal.
“(We) look forward to participating in the government’s consultation process,” they say.
When the incentive was first floated in late 2024, the company agreed the law was flawed but maintained concerns about “charging one industry to subsidise another”.
Over the previous year, Google has renewed 60 deals with a variety of publishers.
There had been some speculation the government may not push ahead with the media bargaining measures following concerns US President Donald Trump could increase tariffs on Australian products over the issue.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assures he will not undermine the policy in his US negotiations.
His much-anticipated meetings with Mr Trump did not result in increased tariffs.
“I want to stress that this is agnostic as to the location of the companies,” Dr Mulino says.
“This is about issues relating to market power and the use of news content without appropriate, fair compensation.”
– AAP.
