Australia Mandates News Payments From Meta And Google: How Will It Affect The Public?

The Australian government on Thursday introduced a "news bargaining incentive" requiring digital platforms with revenues over AU$250 million, including Meta, TikTok (ByteDance), and Google, to either pay a fixed charge or make direct deals with news companies.

Platforms that choose to make direct payments to news companies in Australia instead of paying the charge will be refunded through an offset.

Discussions about the charge amount will take place in 2025. Once the law is passed, the payment requirement will be backdated to Jan. 1, 2025. Deals made after that date will also be eligible for offsets, reported The Guardian.

This move aimed to prevent companies like Meta from sidestepping the 2021 news media bargaining code, which was designed to level the playing field between digital platforms and news publishers. In March, Meta halted its funding of Australian news through direct publisher deals.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones explained that the charges would be "in the millions, not billions," stressing the importance of ensuring Australians have access to quality news.

"Digital platforms receive huge financial benefits from Australia, and they have a social and economic responsibility to contribute to Australians' access to quality journalism," he said.

This approach strengthens the existing code by closing loopholes that could allow platforms to avoid paying.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland also stressed the role of a diverse and sustainable media sector, which she said was essential to the health of Australia's democracy.

The government does not intend to use this measure to generate revenue. The charge will be set higher than what digital platforms would pay under direct deals, encouraging them to pay news companies directly instead. However, if any platform opts to pay the charge to the government rather than make deals with media companies, the government will need to develop a mechanism to distribute the funds.

Benefits for the public

The new system guarantees continued support for news publishers, preventing platforms from dropping news content. The public will benefit as platforms will help subsidize traditional media, ensuring that news content remains available and accessible.

Karen Percy, president of the media union, called for transparency in how funds were used, stressing that the money should support Australian journalists.

"It should not be used to reward shareholders or for corporate bonuses or inflating company profits," Percy said.

Impact on publishers

The new model aims to restore the revenue that publishers lost when Meta ended its funding for Australian news and ensures that other tech companies cannot follow suit. However, smaller publishers could still be at a disadvantage if platforms offset their charges by making deals with larger publishers.

News Corp Australasia's executive chair, Michael Miller, expressed optimism, stating that the incentive would help the industry recover from an estimated 1,000 job losses this year. He also plans to reach out to Meta to restart their commercial partnership.

Responses from platforms

Meta said the proposal misunderstands the way users interact with Facebook, with a company spokesperson saying, "We agree with the government that the current law is flawed and continue to have concerns about charging one industry to subsidize another."

Google, meanwhile, emphasized its ongoing support for public interest journalism.

"Australians are increasingly turning to a range of platforms, such as Microsoft, Snapchat, and Apple, for news content, and this shift in consumption should be reflected in any proposed measure," a Google spokesperson noted.