Digital platforms will be forced to pay for Australian news regardless of whether they strike new deals with publishers, and companies like Meta will not be able to circumvent news media bargaining provisions.
On Thursday, the Albanon government announced the “News Bargaining Incentive.” This is a fee that applies to digital platforms and is effectively offset and reimbursed when paid directly by news companies.
The government does not intend to increase revenue through this measure. The fees will be set higher than what digital platforms would pay in direct transactions, incentivizing digital platforms to pay publishers rather than governments.
The move is a response to Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta's announcement in March that it would stop funding Australian news through deals with publishers.
The new model would require Australian digital platforms with revenues of more than $250 million, at least Meta, ByteDance (TikTok) and Google, to either pay a fixed fee to participate or strike a direct deal.
Governments can guarantee that globally there will be a significant flow of funds from platforms to news publishers, but if platforms fully offset their liability with contracts with large publishers, the new system will still It may be detrimental to the company.
Once enacted, the payment obligation will be retroactive to January 1, 2025, and income from transactions paid after that date will also be subject to offset.
Negotiations are expected to take place in 2025 on the level of fees and the distribution mechanism should platforms choose to pay fees to governments instead of signing deals with media companies.
The government settled on a charge-and-offset model to prevent digital platforms from refusing to publish news as a means of circumventing requirements imposed to negotiate with local publishers.
But Mehta said the proposal fails to understand that most people don't come to Facebook for news content.
A Meta spokesperson said: “We agree with the Government's view that the current law is flawed and remain concerned about requiring one industry to subsidize another.”
The News Media Bargaining Code was introduced in 2021 to address the significant bargaining power imbalance between digital platforms and news publishers.
The code allowed digital platforms such as Meta and Google to pump around $200 million into Australian media whose business models were being disrupted by the growth of digital platforms.
On Thursday, Mr Jones said: “The government wants Australians to continue to have access to high quality news content on digital platforms.”
“Digital platforms receive significant economic benefits from Australia and have a social and economic responsibility to contribute to Australians' access to quality journalism,” he said in a statement.
“This approach strengthens existing code by addressing loopholes that could allow platforms to avoid payment obligations.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government was “committed to a diverse and sustainable news media sector because it is critical to the health of Australia's democracy”.
Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society in October announced a “digital platform levy” (referred to by some as a “tech tax”) on companies such as Meta and Google to fund public interest journalism. ) was recommended.
The Social Media Commission's interim report focused on Meta, specifically criticizing its decision not to renew its contract and the “deprioritization of news” on the platform.
News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said the incentives would help the industry rebuild after an estimated 1000 jobs were lost this year.
Mr. Miller said he would contact Meta immediately to try to resume the commercial relationship that Meta had terminated earlier this year.
“We intend to reach out to TikTok with the intention of reaching a commercial agreement,” he said.
“I believe news publishers and technology platforms should have a win-win relationship on commercial and broad-based terms. The Government has set a clear timetable for concluding discussions.”
Geoff Howard, managing director and chief executive of Seven West Media, said the government's commitment would ensure businesses received fair remuneration.
“Strengthening news bargaining incentives means trusted news continues to appear on these platforms and combats the growing problem of misinformation and disinformation,” Howard said.
Independent Publishers Man of Many said the bill must also ensure fair support for independent publishers.
