Australia passes law taxing big tech over news payments

Technology Australia passes law taxing major tech over news payments The News Bargaining Incentive targets Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn over local journalism funding.

Key points

• Pareesa Afreen is a reporter and sub editor specialising in technology coverage, with 3 years of experience.
• Australia's parliament passed legislation on Thursday that puts a cost on ignoring local journalism.
• The law levies 2.5% tax on the Australian revenue generated from on the part of the firms that fail to come into an agreement with the local publishers.
• They can sidestep the charge by signing agreements with at least eight different Australian publishers before their reporting period closes.
• The administration called the passage "an important day for Australian news businesses and Australian journalism".

Australia's parliament passed legislation on Thursday that puts a cost on ignoring local journalism. Under the new News Bargaining Incentive, tech giants must either strike commercial deals with Australian news outlets or hand over a slice of their advertising earnings to the administration instead.

Notably, the law levies 2.5% tax on the Australian revenue generated from on the part of the firms that fail to come into an agreement with the local publishers. Nevertheless, the law applies to firms which have a "significant" presence in Australia through their social media and search engines and whose local revenues are above A$250 million, or $178 million.

Platforms aren't locked into paying the levy outright. They can sidestep the charge by signing agreements with at least eight different Australian publishers before their reporting period closes.

No single accord can cover more than 25% of a platform's total levy liability, a cap designed to stop businesses from satisfying the requirement through one or two sizeable partnerships while smaller outlets go unpaid.

Funds raised through the levy flows directly to Australian news organisations, whose stories the administration notes assist drive engagement and ad revenue on these platforms in the first place.

In practice, the administration called the passage "an important day for Australian news businesses and Australian journalism".

It is worth mentioning that the law was approved by the parliament just one day after the adoption of a bill limiting gambling The scheme takes advantage of the Australian News Media Bargaining Code from 2021, where tech firms were produced to negotiate with the publishers directly.

Pareesa Afreen is a reporter and sub editor specialising in technology coverage, with 3 years of experience. She reports on digital innovation, gadgets, and emerging tech trends while ensuring clarity and accuracy through her editorial role, delivering accessible and engaging stories for a fast-evolving digital audience.

Taken together, the developments around australia passes law taxing big tech over news payments point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.