The Australian Government announced this Thursday that it is planning a new regulation to impose millionaires imposed on large technology companies like Google and Meta if they do not pay the media for the news hosted on their platforms.
The measure will be implemented starting January 1, 2025 and will affect companies with revenues exceeding $250 million. The objective is to reinforce the media negotiation code signed in 2021 to guarantee payment for the use of journalistic content.
The Australian Executive makes this decision before the Meta’s refusal to renew the agreements since last March because, as they have explained, the platforms are not a main source of news for users.
Technology companies condemn the plan
«The proposal does not take into account the reality of the operation of our platforms. “Most people do not come to our platforms for news content and news publishers voluntarily choose to publish content on our platforms because they receive value for it,” said a Meta spokesperson following the Australian Finance Minister’s remarks.
A Google spokesperson asserted that the government’s decision “jeopardizes the viability of commercial agreements with news publishers in Australia.” The proposed new rules come as Australia toughens its stance against tech giants mostly based in the United States.
Last month it became thefirst country to prohibit access to social networks for those under 16 years of age, to a measure that is considered a reference point for other governments. Google, ByteDance through TikTok, and Meta through their various platforms would fall within the scope of the new rules. However, X, formerly Twitter, would not be covered, Jones said.
In 2021, Australia passed several laws to force American tech giants like Google and Meta to compensate media companies for links that bring in readers and advertising revenue. After the measurement, Meta briefly blocked users from forwarding news articles, but later reached agreements with several Australian media companies, including News Corp and national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp.
It has since stated that it will not renew those agreements beyond 2024. Meta, which also owns Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, has been reducing its promotion of news and political content globally to drive traffic and says news links are now a fraction of users’ feeds.
This year he said that would suspend the news tab on Facebook in Australia and the United States, and added that it had canceled the tab last year in Britain, France and Germany. In 2023, Meta prevented users in Canada from reposting news after their government took similar action. Australian news organizations, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, are expected to benefit from the new rules.
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