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Australia passes news bargaining law targeting Big Tech

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2026-08-20 19:08 UTC → 2026-08-22 04:10 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Australian Parliament has passed the News Bargaining Incentive and News Journalism Payments bills, establishing a framework to compel major digital platforms to compensate local news organizations. The law targets tech giants with Australian digital advertising revenue exceeding A$250 million, including Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Under the legislation, these companies must either reach commercial agreements with at least eight eligible news businesses or face a 2.5 per cent levy on their local advertising revenue. To ensure the law supports a diverse media landscape, no single agreement can cover more than 25 per cent of a platform’s total levy liability. ~~Additionally, the scheme increases distribution~~ The scheme ~~loading from 10~~ utilizes tax offsets to 20 encourage investment: spending with large publishers provides a 150 per cent ~~for regional journalists and~~ offset, while spending with small-to-medium ~~publishers.~~ publishers provides a 200 per cent offset. Additionally, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) is designated to receive 5 per cent of the revenue collected through the incentive. The passage of the law has drawn mixed reactions. Industry bodies such as Free TV Australia have welcomed the ~~move, viewing it~~ move as a vital step toward ensuring global technology platforms contribute fairly to ~~the~~ journalism ~~ecosystems they utilize. However,~~ ecosystems. Conversely, Meta has criticized the measures, labeling them an “unfair tax” that may not guarantee a sustainable news sector. The legislation also remains a point of international ~~friction. The~~ friction; the US-based group Americans for Tax Reform has characterized the measure as a ‘shakedown’ of American companies and has suggested potential US retaliation through tariffs.

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