Australia’s second attack to defeat big technology companies. After approving a few days ago the prohibition of the use of social networks by minors under 16 years of ageCanberra has once again launched a second volley of harpoons against firms such as Google and Meta, members of the Magnificent Seven and authentic sperm whales whose impact not only crosses the economic sphere, but also the political and social sphere, as has been seen with the re-election of Donald Trump. The Government has also decided to make a move and has approved a plan to establish a tax on the owners of social networks if they do not pay the media to host the content of said media on their platforms.
The measure will affect the firms that own social networks whose annual income in Australian territory exceeds 160 million US dollars. The objective is to increase the financing of the media, an increase that would serve to improve the quality of their content. This would also make it possible to reduce the enormous weight of social networks in the advertising revenues obtained by the media and which are key to their survival.
Specifically, this rule seeks to promote agreement between firms such as Alphabet and Metaparent companies of Google, Facebook or Instagram, with the Australian media, since if this occurs, a tax exemption will be applied. In the words of Stephen Jones, Finance Minister ‘also’, this measure “will create a tax incentive for the agreement“between both parties.
This move comes after Meta announced last March that it would not renew its contracts with various Australian media, within the framework of a law passed in 2021 that forces large digital platforms to compensate media outlets for revenue. advertising and by the links that attract readers to these platforms. After the initial reluctance of Zuckerberg’s firm, Facebook’s parent company agreed and reached agreements with companies such as News Corp and Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Canberra wants to secure the financing of its media ecosystem from the large digital and social media platforms. According to Michelle Rowland, “the rapid rise of digital platforms in recent years has shaken the Australian media landscape, threatening the viability of public interest journalism” Therefore, Rowland believes that these platforms “must support access to quality journalism that informs and strengthens our democracy.”
On the other hand, it does not seem coincidental that Australia takes this measure after the re-election of Donald Trump. The role that misinformation has had in his electoral campaign, spread through platforms such as ‘X’, former Twitter owner of Elon Musk, has been fundamental in the magnate’s victory. The open instrumentalization of the old Twitter by the owner of Tesla has given way to hate speech and hoaxes under the guise of supposed freedom of information, away from traditional media conglomerates, seems to have pushed Canberra to take note.
It remains to be seen whether the movement will be imitated in other regions. For now, Mark Zuckerberg has donated a million dollars to the fund in charge of paying for Donald Trump’s inauguration. It is the first time that the owner of Meta contributes to a similar fund, a move that has been interpreted as a gesture towards the tycoon, who has harshly criticized Facebook for excessively promoting progressive discourses. This interpretation gains strength if we take into account that last week, Nick Clegg, head of global affairs at Meta, stated that the company went too far in moderating content on its social networks -Facebook and Meta- during the pandemic.
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