Australia Continues to take pioneering steps to limit the power of technology giants. Prime Minister’s Labor Government Anthony Albanese A new one was approved this Thursday Tax With which it will force all digital platforms that earn more than 250 million Australian dollars (about 152 million euros) annually, including companies such as Google, Target one of the two ByteDanceowner of tiktokto finance media National.
In 2021, the maritime nation implemented rules that force veterans Internet pay to share news Of media companies. Forced to do so, Google and Meta reached an economic agreement with which they injected the equivalent of approximately 190 million euros into Australian newspapers, radio and television channels. However, the company that controls Facebook, Instagram And WhatsApp Announced in March that he would not renew his Contract With media, which expires at the end of the year.
avoid clipping
Be aware that more platforms can take advantage of this fact News Media Bargaining Code (News Media Negotiation Code) expiring in three weeks, the Labor Executive has opted to set a rate as an “incentive” that certifies financial compensation to the media. With this, Google, Meta and others will have to choose between paying that fixed rate or signing direct agreements with the information companies.
The size of the tax has not yet been determined, although Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has said it will be “millions, not billions”. Still, this amount will be higher than what platforms pay through direct agreements with media, incentivizing them to interact with the media. Editor Instead of paying a fee to the government, which it claims it has no intention of collecting Income Through this.
Meta condemned that the current law is “flawed”, as it does not understand that the majority of Facebook and Instagram users do not search for news. “We are concerned that one industry is being charged a fee to subsidize another,” he said in a statement. Google, for its part, has assured that it is already committed to renewing its agreements with more than 80 journalism companies to finance 218 media outlets.
promote journalism
With this series of measures, Australia intends to promote journalismWhose business has suffered huge losses due to Google and Meta. Both the giants not only make profits from sharing journalistic content but also share the pie. digital advertisingThe business on which most media outlets are based. After a year in which nearly 1,000 employees have been laid off, the media sector has celebrated the government’s decision.
To avoid that the introduction of the tax could harm smaller publishers, Jones insisted that the affected digital platforms would not be able to offset their liability under the agreement through a large settlement with a “single” large media outlet. Can.
The government hopes that this will force these companies to give more visibility to the news. “Digital platforms have huge economic benefits from Australia, and they have a social and economic responsibility to help Australians access quality journalism,” the minister said in a statement.
Australian Media Federation president Karen Percy has called for greater transparency from the media, warning that money received from platforms “must support the work of journalists“Not to reward shareholders or for corporate bonuses or to increase corporate profits.”
