Australia Proposes Tech News Deals or 2.25% Fee

The Australian government unveiled draft legislation on Tuesday requiring Meta, Google, and TikTok to either negotiate commercial deals with local news publishers or pay a 2.25 percent charge on their Australian revenues, with the funds to be redistributed to support journalism.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the News Bargaining Incentive during a news conference in Canberra, describing it as a measure to ensure large digital platforms contribute to the news media sector. "Our government is taking the next steps to ensure that Australian journalism is sustainable now and into the future, by ensuring that large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code," Albanese said.

Under the proposed rules, platforms opting out of deals would face the charge starting in the 2025-26 financial year on July 1. Collected funds would go directly to news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ, according to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. Deals with publishers would offset the charge at 150 percent for traditional media and 170 percent for smaller or nontraditional outlets, providing an incentive for agreements.