| Australia's government intends to expand the scope and raise the charges to be imposed on Big Tech companies as it tries to spur them into striking deals with local media groups to compensate them for news content. Under a bill to be introduced early in the next session of parliament, any digital platforms that make over A$250 million ($175 million) in annual digital advertising revenue from search or social media in Australia will be charged 2.5% of those revenues, Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said Monday. The companies can offset or cancel out those charges by entering into commercial agreements with Australian news publishers to carry their content. The legislation is "designed to strongly encourage big technology companies to enter into commercial deals with media companies" to pay compensation, Mulino said. If companies enter into such agreements, the government estimates they would collectively have to pay between A$200 million and A$250 million a year, while if they choose not to, they will be charged higher fees under the law, he said. ALSO READ: Gold, Silver Await Next Big Move As US Jobs Data Looms Those fees are estimated to be about A$350 million to A$400 million in the first year, and increase over time as revenue rises, Mulino said. The government expects that the law will apply to Meta Platforms Inc., which runs Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, Alphabet Inc.'s Google and TikTok, and will also likely apply to Microsoft Corp.'s LinkedIn, Mulino said. The law will replace an earlier voluntary code which failed after firms didn't renew deals with Australian media outlets to use their content. Meta said in June that the new legislation "is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry," adding that it violated the terms of the free trade deal with the US. Mulino said he believed the bill is within the scope of the FTA. A Google spokesman declined to comment on the revised legislation, but noted that the firm had "commercial agreements supporting more than 90 news businesses and 226 outlets across national, regional, and independent titles" in Australia. Representatives for Meta declined to comment, while LinkedIn and TikTok didn't immediately reply to emails from Bloomberg. The draft legislation released in April had a 2.25% charge imposed on relevant firms that had A$250 million in revenue attributable to any kind of business in Australia. The revised legislation raised the charge but narrowed the portion of the tech firms' revenue which will be counted. Mulino argued that the amount of money that would go to media firms would be about the same as before the changes. "We want digital platforms to do deals with a diverse range of media organizations and have shown good faith with both the platforms and media companies during the consultation process," Mulino said in an earlier statement. ALSO READ: Stock-Loving Korean President Under Fire Over Wild Market Swings "Australian journalism is important to a well-functioning democracy and we want it to be sustainable now and into the future." |
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