Australia has just approved a new law that forces the world’s biggest tech companies to pay local newsrooms, or hand over part of their ad money instead.
Parliament passed the News Bargaining Incentive on Thursday. The idea is simple: if platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Google Search profit from Australian news, they should pay the people who produce it.
The law targets companies that run major social media or search services in Australia and pull in more than A$250 million, about $178 million, in local advertising each year. According to Reuters, the firms in line include Meta, Google’s parent Alphabet, TikTok and LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft.
To escape the new charge, these companies must sign paid deals with at least eight Australian publishers before their financial year ends. If they don’t, they will be hit with a levy of 2.5 per cent on all their Australian ad revenue.
The government built in a twist to help smaller papers survive. Money spent on agreements with big publishers will count as one and a half times its value. Money spent with small and medium publishers will count double. But there’s a limit no single deal can wipe out more than 25 per cent of a company’s total levy.
Canberra made it clear it prefers negotiation over punishment. “The legislation is here, and the message to platforms to pursue commercial deals is clear,” the government said. “Deals will need to be finalised before the end of a digital platform’s financial reporting period to be used to offset their liability in that period.”
Officials also framed it as a turning point for the media industry. “This is an important day for Australian news businesses and Australian journalism,” they said.
Any money collected through the levy will go straight to Australian news outlets. The aim is to fund public-interest reporting and keep local journalism afloat. The new law also shuts a door tech firms used before removing news from their platforms to avoid paying.
It comes right after Parliament passed tougher rules on gambling advertising, showing a growing appetite to rein in powerful online platforms.
For Meta, Google and others, the choice is now direct: strike fair deals with Australian publishers, or watch a slice of their ad earnings go to fund the newsrooms they rely on.