Australia passed legislation a few years ago requiring platform giants including Facebook owner Meta and YouTube parent Google to negotiate with news publishers to pay for news sharing. The News Media Bargaining Code forces big tech companies to strike deals with local news organizations. However, this seemed to have backfired, and Meta has since stopped promoting news on its global platform.
In March, Australian publishers were stunned when Meta told them it would not renew commercial deals worth about $70 million.
Months after Meta’s blockbuster move, the Australian government is preparing a response: The Financial Times reports that the Australian government will introduce a legislative amendment targeting social media and search engines.
The amendment stipulates that social media and search engines must pay for news if their annual local revenue exceeds $250 million. The press tax will be offset by any voluntary payments to publishers, so the measure, which is due for public consultation next year, is an apparent attempt to bring big tech back to the media table.