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<\/p>\nUS tech giant Meta has condemned Labor’s plan to tax large digital platforms that fail to pay for using Australian journalism as “government-mandated transfer of wealth”.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced details of the new Media Bargaining Incentive, which he said would stop tech platforms sidestepping their “obligations” under existing laws to fairly compensate media organisations.<\/p>\n
Tech companies were swift to criticise the draft legislation, with even Google \u2014 which has made numerous deals with media organisations for use of news content \u2014 rejecting the tax as unnecessary.<\/p>\n
The exclusion of platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI has also been criticised by companies that are captured by the new incentive, which will now be subject to further consultation.<\/p>\n
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Anthony Albanese says the new incentive will stop tech platforms sidestepping their “obligations”. (ABC News: Stuart Carnegie)<\/p>\n
News outlets welcomed the government’s plan as a “critical step”, warning that if digital platforms did not pay for the news content “from which they profit” then journalism in Australia would become “unsustainable”.<\/p>\n
The government expects the new proposal to generate between $200 million and $250 million in revenue that would be entirely distributed to newsrooms.<\/p>\n
The architect of the original code has said Labor’s draft strikes the “right balance,” but raised concerns that smaller media organisations might not get the full benefit.<\/p>\n
Meta unleashes on Labor’s proposal<\/p>\n
In a statement, a Meta spokeswoman dismissed the premise of the incentive, arguing news organisations “voluntarily” post content on their platforms because they “receive value from doing so”.<\/p>\n
“This proposed legislation, which would apply to platforms regardless of whether news content even appears on our services, is nothing more than a digital services tax,” she said.<\/p>\n
The spokeswoman said a “government-mandated transfer of wealth” with “no connection to the value exchanged” would not deliver a “sustainable or innovative news sector”.<\/p>\n
The scathing reaction from Meta, which owns platforms like Facebook and Instagram, comes after the company refused to renew deals with news organisations<\/a> initially made under the News Media Bargaining Code, first introduced in 2021.<\/p>\n Meta instead effectively sidestepped the code by removing and de-prioritising news rather than being forced to pay for the content.<\/p>\n To address this loophole, Labor’s incentive proposal would apply to major platforms regardless of whether they hosted news.<\/p>\n Doing deals will be cheaper than tax<\/p>\n Under the draft legislation, tech giants face a tax of 2.25 per cent on their Australian gross revenue, which would then be distributed to local news organisations based on the number of journalists they employ.<\/p>\n Companies can reduce their tax bill \u2014 theoretically all the way to zero \u2014 by making deals with media organisations to pay for their use of news content.<\/p>\n To do this, the tech platforms must make deals with at least four different media groups and can deduct 150 per cent of the value of those agreements from their tax liability.<\/p>\n Deals concluded with smaller news outlets could be deducted at a rate of 170 per cent in an effort to ensure the tech companies don’t exclusively focus on agreements with larger players.<\/p>\n These settings mean that if a tech company made deals, it would pay the equivalent of about a 1.5 per cent tax, which would be cheaper than facing the 2.25 per cent flat charge on those that refuse to negotiate.<\/p>\n Meta argues news organisations “voluntarily” post content on their platforms because they “receive value from doing so”. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic)<\/p>\n Communications Minister Anika Wells said making tech platforms pay for journalism reflected the fact Australians now overwhelming consumed content online through social media.<\/p>\n “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,” she said.<\/p>\n “Platforms should do deals with news organisations. If they decide not to, they will end up paying more.”<\/p>\n Google questions why Microsoft is exempt<\/p>\n The new incentive is designed to capture digital platforms that provide significant social media and search services with a total revenue attributable to Australia of $250 million or more per financial year.<\/p>\n A significant media service has more than five million average active monthly users in Australia, while a search service has more than 10 million users.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7edc6ba813f7bd75d78c328ba919aabd.jpeg\")
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