Australia introduced draft legislation for a News Bargaining Incentive scheme. The proposal imposes a 2.25% levy on the local revenues of large digital platforms. This tax targets companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok that do not pay for Australian news.
The government intends for the levy to compel commercial negotiations with publishers. Authorities will redistribute collected funds to news organizations to support journalism.
This law replaces the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code. Officials claim the previous code became ineffective after Meta declined to renew content deals in 2024.
Meta called the government position wrong, stating news organizations receive value from voluntary posts. Google rejected the tax and cited its existing agreements with numerous Australian news businesses.