Australia is set to mandate that Meta and Google compensate local media for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme announced on Thursday. The move comes as traditional media companies globally struggle to survive amid the online advertising boom. The Australian government aims to ensure tech giants contribute to local publishers for driving traffic through shared articles.
"The digital platforms' rapid growth has significantly disrupted Australia's media landscape, posing a threat to public interest journalism," said Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. "It is crucial that these platforms support quality journalism, which is essential for a well-informed and strong democracy."
Social media platforms generating over US$160 million annually in Australia will face a yet-to-be-determined tax to fund news. However, they can avoid or offset this tax by entering into voluntary commercial agreements with Australian media outlets. The government confirmed that Google, Facebook, and TikTok's parent companies would be subject to this tax, which will take effect next year. Elon Musk's X is expected to be exempt due to its lower domestic revenue.
The Australian media industry has faced significant job losses and closures in recent years. In 2021, Google and Meta signed deals worth a combined US$160 million with Australian newsrooms. However, Meta has signaled it will not renew these agreements when they expire in March, citing the minimal impact of news on its traffic. The new tax aims to prevent tech giants from removing news content from their platforms, as both Meta and Google have done in other countries.
A Meta spokesperson criticized the proposal, stating that it "fails to recognize the realities of how our platforms operate." The University of Canberra found that over half of Australians rely on social media for news. Proponents argue that tech companies benefit from news stories to attract users and consume advertising revenue that would otherwise support struggling newsrooms. Both Google and Meta have resisted similar efforts in other regions to compensate news outlets.
This latest move is part of Australia's broader strategy to regulate tech giants. The country recently passed laws banning under-16s from social media and proposed fines for companies failing to address offensive content and disinformation.
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