Meta has gone on the offensive against the Albanese government’s plan to tax its Australian revenue to bankroll journalism, calling the proposal “indefensible”. The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Quest virtual reality products, set out its position in a strongly worded overnight blog post. It argues the News Bargaining Incentive would foster dependence on government-backed money rather than market-based deals.
The News Bargaining Incentive targets three global platforms - Meta, Google and TikTok - and pushes them to strike funding agreements with media outlets. Under the scheme, platforms would pay a 2.25% charge on their Australian gross revenue, which would then be redistributed to the local news sector. Meta, valued at about $US1.5 trillion ($2.1 trillion), says the framework unfairly singles out a handful of foreign tech firms while rival services avoid similar obligations.
Meta contends the legislation is poorly designed and fundamentally unfair, warning it will not deliver a diverse or sustainable news industry. It frames the measure as a discriminatory, retrospective tax that punishes only selected multinationals, despite other businesses offering comparable digital services in Australia. The company also warns that linking news funding to government-designed levies risks tying media companies’ fortunes to political decisions rather than audience demand. Critics of the tax structure argue that could entrench incumbents and reduce incentives for innovation in the sector.
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has rejected Meta’s criticism and is standing by the proposal to underpin public interest journalism. He says the Albanese government remains committed to the News Bargaining Incentive as a long-term support mechanism for Australian news.
The government wants large digital platforms to sign commercial agreements with news media companies, backed by the threat of the 2.25% levy if they do not. That standoff is shaping up as a major test of how far Canberra is prepared to go in forcing global tech giants to help fund local journalism.
