Meta calls Australia's news tax poorly designed, unfair and damaging to local journalism
Australia's Labour government wants Meta, Google and TikTok to negotiate with local media or face a levy
Meta has mounted a forceful challenge against Australia's proposed plan to tax social media platforms for their use of news content, condemning the measure as poorly designed, discriminatory and counterproductive to the very goal of sustaining independent Australian journalism.
What the News Bargaining Incentive proposes
The Labour government's News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) would compel Meta, Google and TikTok to either reach commercial agreements with local media organisations or face a levy of up to 2.25 per cent of revenue generated in Australia.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, funds collected through the tax would then be distributed to news outlets on the basis of the number of journalists they employ.
Meta's core objections
Meta's concerns extend well beyond the financial burden the measure would impose. The company argued in its formal submission that the News Bargaining Code would effectively transform Australian journalism into a state-subsidised arrangement, with the government — rather than market forces — determining which outlets receive financial support.
"This law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry," Meta declared in its submission, a line it repeated to underscore the strength of its opposition to the proposal.
The company also took issue with the selective scope of the legislation, pointing out that it targets only a small number of foreign firms whilst leaving comparable platforms such as Microsoft and Snapchat entirely unaffected, despite those services offering similar functionality.
A potential trade dispute with Washington
Meta escalated its challenge further by arguing that the NBI represents a breach of commitments made under the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement. Should that claim be pursued through formal channels, it could draw the United States government into a dispute that Canberra has thus far characterised as a matter of purely domestic media policy.