The federal government’s revamped News Bargaining Incentive has passed both the House of Representatives and Senate.
The changes mean nominated Big Tech firms must pay a 2.75 percent tax on their annual revenue if they fail to strike payment deals with Australian news outlets.
The Incentive replaces the previous News Media Bargaining Code and will affect Google, Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, and LinkedIn.
Any successful voluntary deal with a news outlet triggers an “offset” on the annual levy, which means, the digital platform pays a lower levy rate. A deal with a large outlet triggers a 150 percent offset on the 2.75 percent levy, while a deal with a regional outlet triggers a 200 percent offset.
The move has been met with criticism from the U.S.-based Americans for Tax Reform.
Fair for Big Tech to Pay for Journalism: Senator
Labor Senator Charlotte Walker says the laws come as Australian newsrooms struggle to pay reporters, especially smaller and regional offices.
“The way journalism has traditionally paid for itself has changed a lot over the last 15 years,” she told the Senate on Aug. 20.
“This legislation is about dealing with this reality.
“If large digital platforms are operating in Australia, making substantial advertising revenue here and benefiting from an online environment where Australian journalism is shared, searched and consumed, we think it’s fair that they contribute to keeping that journalism going.”
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson spoke in favour of the changes, pointing to the fact the original News Media Bargaining Code was implemented by the former Liberal-National Coalition government.
“The viability of our Australian media organisations, our newsrooms and our journalists is critical,” she said.
“They are under increasing pressure as more and more advertising dollars are drained from Australian media onto digital platforms.
“It is deeply regrettable that it has taken so long for these bills to come into the parliament.”
Mid-Tier Media Face Risk: Academic
Professor Derek Wilding, co-director of the Centre for Media Transition at the University of Technology Sydney, said the Incentive brings much-needed support for the industry.
“The scheme will almost certainly have a positive impact for the larger media companies that employ the most journalists,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The design of the scheme has been amended in recent weeks to enhance support for smaller news providers, and very small news businesses are likely to be better off than they were under the original design.”
Smaller providers will be the focus of a journalism fund that will receive the taxed dollars from the Big Tech firms.
Wilding said there was a risk for medium sized media if the digital giants chose to sign more direct deals with the larger outlets, in turn, thinning the pool of money to be redistributed via the fund.
“For [mid-tier media outlets] to benefit, there will need to be a reasonable amount of funds collected via the levy,” he said.
“We’re hoping that all this balances out so that the larger firms can negotiate decent agreements directly with platforms, but that some platforms will choose not to acquit their obligations fully through direct deals and instead will contribute to the levy fund.
“In that way, the benefits of the scheme will be distributed more evenly and support greater media diversity.”
US Group Critical
U.S. advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform has condemned the law’s passage, calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to tariff Australia.
“Australia has found a new way to tax American success,” the group said in a statement reported by AAP.
“Canberra calls it support for journalism. It is a shakedown, and American companies are the mark.
“Rather than letting digital platforms and news publishers to negotiate freely, Canberra wants to put its thumb on the scale.”
