Australia Tightens Media Bargaining Rules for Big Tech

The Australian government will introduce a revised media bargaining law to parliament on Thursday, expanding the obligations of large technology companies to pay domestic news outlets for content. The changes are designed to distribute advertising revenue more broadly across the country's media landscape.

Under the updated framework, digital platforms will be required to reach commercial agreements with at least eight media companies, an increase from the six stipulated in an earlier draft. The government has also reinstated a cap that limits any single deal to 25% of a platform's total levy liability under the law.

The levy is set at 2.5% of a company's Australian advertising revenue, with the amount owed offset by the value of the deals they strike with news organisations. The new plan extends coverage to platforms such as TikTok and Microsoft's LinkedIn, broadening the scope beyond the original targets of Google and Meta.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the changes were made to better support smaller and diverse media organisations, reflecting how people now access news from a variety of sources. The government also committed to directing 5% of the funds raised under the scheme to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), the non-profit newswire service that supplies text, photographs, and video to media outlets nationwide. AAP faced closure in 2020, and the government said the funding recognises its role in supporting public-interest journalism.

The revamp revives Canberra's effort to channel money from large tech firms to Australian news organisations, whose content drives user engagement and advertising revenue on these platforms. The original 2021 law required Google and Meta to negotiate payment deals, with a government-appointed arbitrator empowered to set terms if talks failed. The redesign became necessary after Meta announced it would stop paying for news content in Australia and other markets.