Australia to tax tech giants unless they pay news publishers

Australia is moving to tighten the screws on the world’s biggest tech companies, unveiling draft laws that would tax Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily reach payment agreements with local news publishers.

The proposal lands as traditional media organisations worldwide fight to stay afloat while audiences increasingly turn to social media for headlines, updates and breaking news.

Canberra’s position is straightforward: if major digital platforms share articles that help draw users to their services, local publishers should be paid in return.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Meta, Google and TikTok would be offered the opportunity to negotiate content deals with Australian news outlets before any tax was imposed.

“Large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code,” Mr Albanese told reporters.

“At this point the three organisations are Meta, Google and TikTok.”

The government identified the three companies based on a mix of their Australian revenues and the size of their domestic user bases.

The draft laws are also intended to prevent companies from sidestepping the rules by removing news from their platforms altogether, a tactic Meta and Google have used before.

“What we are encouraging is for them to sit down with news organisations and get these deals done,” Mr Albanese said.

When the Australian government floated similar measures in 2024, Facebook parent Meta responded by announcing that users in Australia would no longer be able to access the “news” tab.

Meta had already said it would not renew content agreements with news publishers in the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

‘Only fair’

Google, for its part, has also warned that it could restrict its search engine in Australia if required to compensate news outlets.

Mr Albanese said journalism must carry a “monetary value attached to it”.

“It shouldn’t be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits with no compensation.”

Backers of the approach say social media platforms use news content to attract audiences while absorbing online advertising revenue that might otherwise support struggling newsrooms.

Research from Australia’s University of Canberra has found that more than half the population uses social media as a source of news.

“People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok and Google,” Communications Minister Anika Wells said.

“We believe it’s only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue.”

The draft laws have now been released for public consultation, which will remain open until May.

After that, the government plans to introduce the legislation to parliament later this year.