Australia Tightens Rules on Tech Giants Over News Content

Australia has passed legislation requiring major technology companies to strike commercial agreements with local news publishers or face a levy of 2.5% of their advertising revenues. The News Bargaining Incentive is aimed at ensuring Australian media organisations receive compensation for news content that contributes to engagement and advertising revenue on major digital platforms.

The measure applies to companies including Meta, Alphabet’s Google, TikTok and Microsoft’s LinkedIn, provided they operate significant social media or search services in Australia and generate more than A$250 million in local advertising revenue. Platforms can avoid the levy by reaching agreements with at least eight different news publishers before the end of their financial reporting period.

Under the scheme, spending on agreements with large publishers receives a 150% offset against the levy, while deals with small and medium-sized outlets receive a 200% offset. Individual agreements are capped at 25% of a platform’s total levy liability. The Australian government said the legislation sends a clear message that platforms must pursue commercial deals and described the measure as an important step for Australian journalism.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright