Sydney Reuters —Australia plans new rules to “create a financial incentive” for big tech firms to pay Australian media companies for news content on their platforms, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones announced on Thursday.
The move, described as a “news bargaining initiative,” piles pressure on global tech giants like Facebook-owner Meta Platforms and Google to pay publishers for content or face the risk of paying millions to continue operations in Australia.
The platforms at risk of the charge will be significant social media platforms and search engines with an Australian-based revenue in excess of 250 million Australian dollars (about $160 million), he said.
The charge will be offset for any commercial agreements that are voluntarily entered into between the platforms and news media businesses, he added.
Australia in 2021 passed laws to make the US tech giants, such as Alphabet’s Google and Meta, compensate media companies for the links that drive readers - and advertising revenue - to their platforms.
Persons:
Financial Services Stephen Jones, ” Jones, Jones, Meta
Organizations:
Sydney Reuters, Financial Services, Facebook, Meta, Google, News Corp, Australian Broadcasting Corp
Locations:
Australia, Australian