Australia Proposes Levy to Compel Tech Giants to Pay for News Content

The Albanese government introduces a financial incentive targeting platforms like Meta and Google to support Australian journalism.

The Australian government has proposed a 'news media bargaining incentive,' a levy aimed at pressuring tech platforms to negotiate payment deals with news publishers.
Platforms that refuse to enter agreements would face a levy regardless of whether they host news content, potentially making non-compliance more costly.
The initiative builds on the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code, which previously led to over $200 million in deals but has seen Meta withdraw from renewing agreements this year.
The government hopes to avoid outcomes like Canada’s, where Meta blocked news content entirely in response to similar legislation, causing significant harm to local journalism.
A public consultation paper on the proposed scheme will be released in early 2025, leaving platforms like Meta time to evaluate their response.