Meta, the parent company of major social media platforms Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, has attacked the government’s pursuit of the News Bargaining Incentive.
The incentive, an extension of the former Coalition government’s News Media Bargaining Code, includes a 2.25 per cent charge on the Australian revenue of Meta, Google and TikTok if they refused to strike voluntary deals worth hundreds of millions to pay Australian news companies for article links.
“Our position is clear: this law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry,” Meta wrote in a blog post first reported by The Australian Financial Review.
“Call it what it is: a discriminatory, retroactive tax targeting a handful of foreign companies while competitors offering comparable services face no equivalent obligation.”
Asked at the announcement of the incentive about repercussions from the US administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We’re a sovereign nation and my government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest”.
More to come
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Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
