No Deal, No Free Pass: Australia Passes New Law Forcing Meta, Google to Pay Up for News

If you don't want to pay up, you'd better strike a deal that actually delivers results—that's the only option Australia's new law leaves for platforms like Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Both houses of Australia's parliament have passed a bill stating that any tech company operating a "significant" social media service or search engine, and earning over AU$275 million (roughly US$178 million) in local annual ad revenue, must pay a 2.75% tax on local revenue if it fails to reach agreements supporting news production with at least eight news outlets by the end of the annual reporting period.

This isn't a number pulled out of thin air. According to Reuters, the tax will be paid directly to news outlets, based on the reasoning that tech companies have already profited from these outlets' content through user engagement and ad revenue. As for how much each outlet gets, that depends on the number of journalists it employs, including freelancers. In other words, outlets that can afford to keep a newsroom running will get a bigger cut.

This mechanism is meant to replace the old system that took effect in 2021. The Australian government says that framework "is no longer working effectively." Back when those rules first rolled out, Meta briefly blocked Australian outlets and users from sharing news links, before eventually striking deals with local media—deals that expired two years ago. Meta pulled a similar move three years ago in Canada, blocking news content for Facebook and Instagram users there too.

The new law hasn't specified an exact rollout date or which companies will be affected first, but the logic is clear: it's negotiate or pay up—skipping the table doesn't mean you get to use news content for free.