Australia is once again becoming a global testing ground in the state-BigTech relationship. The government in Canberra has announced plans to introduce a ‘News Bargaining Incentive’ – a mechanism to replace the existing, ineffective 2021 regulations. The new regulation presents giants such as Meta, Alphabet and TikTok with a stark choice: either negotiate commercial deals with local publishers, or face a tax of 2.25% of their local revenues.
According to the bill, which is expected to come into force in July 2025, the proceeds of the new levy will not go into the general state budget, but will be redirected directly to media organisations. The key criterion for the distribution of funds is to be the number of journalists employed, in order to promote real content creation and not just coverage. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, despite warnings from the US administration about possible retaliatory tariffs, emphasises the sovereignty of Australian economic policy.
Australia’s move is a shift away from a soft negotiation model to hard fiscalism. The previous system allowed platforms to avoid payment by extinguishing contracts or, in extreme cases, blocking news content, something the Met has already tested in 2021. The current proposal is much harder to neutralise from an operational level – a tax on revenue is a cost that cannot be avoided with a simple algorithm change.
However, the geopolitical risks are worth noting. Donald Trump’s announcements of tariffs on countries that tax US technology companies suggest that local journalism protection could become the trigger for a wider trade conflict. For the technology sector, this represents a period of increased volatility and the need to review strategies for presence in markets with strong protectionist tendencies.
