The Government has proposed new legislation that would see social media platforms pay fees if they do not enter into commercial partnerships with news publishers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “every single dollar” generated by the levy “will go back to journalists”.
Meta and Google both criticisedthe draft law, calling it a “tax”.
The Government is accepting feedback from publishers and platforms until mid-May.
Background
In 2021, the News Media Bargaining Code came into effect, which requires tech companies to pay news companies for the content on their platforms.
Many news publishers (though not TDA) made deals with social media companies including Meta and Google so their content could be shown on the sites.
In Canada, the Online News Act came into effect in 2023, requiring social platforms to pay publishers for news.
Meta responded by banning access to news on its platforms for Canadians.
To this day, news companies can’t be seen via Instagram in Canada.
Back in Australia, in 2024, Meta announced it would not renew its deals with publishers such as NewsCorp, Nine, Seven, and Ten, saying: “People don’t come to Facebook for news and political content”.
Google, on the other hand, renewed many of its agreements.
The Government decided not to pursue legal action against Meta, instead saying it would introduce new legislation (which is what they’ve announced this week).
New law
This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the News Media Bargaining Incentive (NBI). Under the NBI, platforms would pay the Government 2.25% of their Australian revenue.
To pay this, social media companies have two options:
- Pay the 2.25% levy directly to the Government, which it will distribute “back to the news media sector.”
- Or, reach agreements with news outlets to pay them directly. If they choose this option, the Government will reduce their levy bill.
This is how a 2.25% levy would look:
* Via Ibis World
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“Journalists are the lifeblood of Australia’s media sector, playing a vital role in keeping communities informed about the news that matters to them," - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Response
A Meta spokesperson called the draft legislation a “digital services tax.”
“News organisations voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so.”
A spokesperson for Google said: “We reject the need for this tax.”
“It ignores the fact that Google already has commercial agreements with the news industry... and mandates payments from some companies while arbitrarily excluding platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI”.
TDA
So... does this affect The Daily Aus?
We won’t know until the legislation has passed Parliament and is enforced.
TDA never received any money from social media companies under the initial code introduced in 2021, so this is new territory for us.
Pros
Social media companies would receive extra discounts to offset their 2.25% levy if they sign deals with small- to medium-sized news businesses, rather than just large ones.
This could incentivise social media companies to reach agreements with companies like TDA.
Cons
Social media companies could either fully withdraw from the Australian market or block all news services on their platforms (as Meta has done in Canada) to avoid paying the levy or to force a change in the law.
This would be terrible for TDA, and for you (we hope!).
What’s next?
Publishers and tech companies have until 18 May to respond to the proposed changes.
This includes suggestions for how funds generated by the NBI charge could be used.
Both Meta and Google have confirmed they will provide feedback about the legislation.
