Australia Proposes New Law to Tax Digital Giants for Journalism Funding

Sydney. Australia has unveiled a new plan to increase investment in journalism by taxing large digital companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok. The government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a draft law on Tuesday, stating its objective is to encourage social media companies to pay for journalism by reaching agreements with news organizations.

This proposal is planned to be presented to parliament by July 2. According to this proposal, if these companies do not pay for content in collaboration with news publishers, they will be taxed 2.25 percent of their Australian revenue.

A provision has also been made to offer tax exemptions if they enter into agreements with news organizations. Prime Minister Albanese stated that it is necessary to determine the value of journalism and that it is not appropriate for large multinational companies to profit from using content produced by others without providing fair compensation.

He also emphasized that investment in journalism is crucial for a healthy democracy. This is Australia's second attempt to compel digital platforms to pay for news content. Previously, similar pressure was applied through the 'News Media Bargaining Code' implemented in 2021.

Digital companies have criticized this proposal, interpreting it as a digital services tax, and have stated that it does not understand the changing nature of the advertising industry and will not lead to the creation of a sustainable journalism sector.