Australia has released draft legislation that would impose a levy on major technology platforms unless they negotiate voluntary agreements to pay Australian news organisations for the use of their content.
The proposed law targets Meta, Google and TikTok, the three platforms with the highest revenue and user bases in the country. Under the draft code, each platform would be required to pay a compulsory contribution equal to 2.25 % of its Australian earnings if it fails to reach a content‑payment deal with local publishers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the measure is intended to close a loophole that previously allowed platforms to avoid payment by simply removing news from their services.
“The large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code,” Albanese told reporters. “We are encouraging them to sit down with news organisations and get these deals done.” The levy would apply only after negotiation attempts have been exhausted, and it would be enforced alongside existing requirements that platforms offer a “news” or “search” function to Australian users.
The draft legislation follows earlier attempts in 2024 to force similar arrangements. When the Australian government first introduced the code, Meta announced that the “news” tab would be removed for Australian users. The company has also withdrawn from voluntary news‑content deals in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Google has warned it could restrict its search services in Australia if compelled to pay for news content.
Supporters argue that social media platforms profit from news stories that drive traffic and advertising revenue, while traditional newsrooms struggle financially. “Journalism needs a monetary value attached to it,” Albanese said. “It shouldn’t be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits with no compensation.”
Meta described the proposal as “nothing more than a digital services tax,” stating that news organisations post content voluntarily because they receive value from the exposure. A company spokesperson added that the claim the platform “takes” news content is “simply wrong.”
Australia’s University of Canberra reports that more than half of the population obtains news through social media. Communications Minister Anika Wells highlighted the need for platforms to contribute to the “hard work that enriches their feeds and drives their revenue.”
The consultation period for the draft laws runs until May, after which the measures are expected to be tabled in parliament later this year. If enacted, the legislation would create a new revenue stream for Australian news outlets and set a precedent for how digital platforms compensate publishers for the use of their content.
