Australia to levy tech companies to support local media

Australia will require technology companies to pay a levy to local news publishers if they fail to reach copyright agreements with media companies in the country.

According to a report from Engadget on Thursday (20/8) local time, the law governing the obligation has been passed by the Australian parliament.

Under the rule, technology companies such as Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn will be charged a levy of 2.75 percent of local revenue if they do not reach agreements with at least eight news publishers by the end of their annual reporting period.

The rule applies to companies that generate more than 250 million Australian dollars, or around Rp3.1 trillion, in advertising revenue in Australia and operate social media services or search engines deemed to have significant influence in the country.

The Australian government will distribute the funds collected from the levy to news publishers. The amount each publisher receives will be calculated based on the number of journalists, including freelancers, they employ.

The Australian government considers the rule necessary because the previous provision, in force since 2021, is no longer working effectively.

The old rule also sparked disputes between the Australian government and technology companies. After the rule took effect, Meta restricted publishers and users in Australia from sharing news articles on its platform.

Meta subsequently reached agreements with a number of local media companies, but those agreements ended two years ago.

Meta also took a similar step in Canada in 2023 by blocking Facebook and Instagram users from sharing links to news articles after the government there introduced rules requiring technology companies to pay news publishers.