Albanese unveils 2 per cent revenue hit for tech giants who shun news deals
Digital giants including Meta, TikTok and Google will have to pay up to $250 million to the Australian government if they refuse to make deals for local journalism, which will then be distributed to media companies.
Despite the risk of a backlash from the pro-tech Trump administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday released a bill proposing a tax of 2.25 percent of tech companies’ revenues if they do not enter into voluntary agreements with media companies to pay compensation for stories on social media.
Australia has insisted in public messages that the charge against tech companies will not amount to a tax; This could trigger ire from the US administration and possibly lead to tariffs on Australia.
The government says it will not put any revenue into its coffers, but will instead distribute the money to media companies based on the number of journalists they employ.
Albanese rejected the Trump administration’s objections to the plan at a press conference on Tuesday.
“We are a sovereign nation,” the Prime Minister said.
“This is not about government revenues. Every dollar will go back to journalists. We think investment in journalism is critical to a healthy democracy. It is important.”
Albanese added that local journalism should not be “taken over by a large multinational company and used to make a profit.”
The new laws, which have been delayed for months due to concerns about a US response, were required after Instagram owner Meta pulled out of a Morrison-era plan that would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for media companies.
Meta said it would remove news from its platforms, prompting the government to reform its framework to guard against the risk of Meta blocking news links.
More to come.
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Paul Sakkal is the Chief Political Correspondent. He has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley award as well as the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year award. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect with: X or email.
David Swan is the technology editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor of The Australian newspaper.Connect with: X or email.
