Australia to slap tech giants like Google, Meta with fees if they dont pay news companies for content

Australia is planning to pass a new rule forcing major tech conglomerates to continue paying media companies to use their content on their social media platforms, government officials said Thursday.The News Bargaining Incentive pressures major tech giants like Meta and Google to renew paid partnerships with Australian media companies or face a fine.The exact size of the fine is unclear.“Digital platforms receive huge financial benefits from Australia, and they have a social and economic responsibility to contribute to Australians’ access to quality journalism,” Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said in a statement.The social media platforms and search engines eligible to be hit with the charge are those with an Australian-based revenue of 250 million Australian dollars, or about $160 million, or more, Jones said at a press conference.Tech companies that willingly enter or renew partnerships with Australian media firms will not have to pay the charge.In 2021, Australia passed the News Media Bargaining Code – an ultimatum that made social media platforms and search engines form deals with Australian news companies.

Tech giants can circumvent this mandate, however, by removing links to Australian news content from their platforms.And some major tech companies have already announced they will not be renewing these deals after they expire in 2024.Following the initial government rule, Meta penned deals with a slew of Australian media firms including News Corp Australia and Australian Broadcasting Corp., reportedly worth $70 million.But in March, Meta said it would not renew those deals beyond 2024, arguing that tech companies are not responsible for the issues plaguing the news industry.“We agree with the government that the current law is flawed and continue to have concerns about charging one industry to subsidise another,” a Meta spokesperson told The Post.“The proposal fails to account for the realities of how our p...