Australia's News Bargaining Incentive: Too Little, Too Late?
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is advancing the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), a plan requiring tech giants like Meta, Google, and TikTok to make commercial deals with Australian media outlets or face a 2.25% levy on local revenues. The policy aims to fund journalism, but risks US tariffs under Donald Trump, who has threatened the UK with tariffs over its tech crackdown. Meta already ended deals with Australian publishers in 2024 and may block news as it did in Canada, where the Online News Act led to no significant engagement drop. The NBI assumes tech platforms still need news, but they increasingly do not. Trump, at the White House Correspondents Dinner, opted for a magician instead of a comedian, and has defunded NPR, PBS, and Voice of America. The policy could backfire, reducing web traffic for Australian media and allowing misinformation to thrive.
Key facts
- Australia's PM Anthony Albanese is moving forward with the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI).
- The NBI requires Meta, Google, and TikTok to make commercial deals with Australian media or pay a 2.25% levy.
- The levy would be collected by the Commonwealth and passed to media companies if voluntary deals are not struck.
- The US has threatened tariffs on countries that 'discriminate' against its tech companies.
- Trump threatened the UK with a 'big tariff' over its digital services tax.
- Meta ended commercial deals with Australian publishers in 2024.
- Canada's Online News Act took effect in December 2023; Meta blocked news links in Canada without significant engagement loss.
- Trump defunded NPR, PBS, and Voice of America, and threatened to imprison journalists.
Entities
Institutions
- Meta
- TikTok
- The New York Times
- CBS
- NPR
- PBS
- Voice of America
- White House Correspondents Association
- Monocle
Locations
- Australia
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Washington
Sources
- Monocle —