Australia to charge Big Tech companies 2% levy unless they strike local news deals
Key takeaways
- SYDNEY: The Australian government said on Tuesday that Meta, Alphabet’s Google, and Tik Tok could face multimillion-dollar charges if they did not negotiate deals to pay local media outlets for news on their platforms.
- A proposed News Bargaining Incentive would tax the three big tech companies at 2.25% of their local revenues unless they struck agreements, with the proceeds directed to news companies to boost Australian journalism.
- “Platforms should do deals with news organisations.
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
SYDNEY: The Australian government said on Tuesday that Meta, Alphabet’s Google, and Tik Tok could face multimillion-dollar charges if they did not negotiate deals to pay local media outlets for news on their platforms.
A proposed News Bargaining Incentive would tax the three big tech companies at 2.25% of their local revenues unless they struck agreements, with the proceeds directed to news companies to boost Australian journalism.
“People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok and from Google, and we believe it’s only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work of journalism that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told a news conference.