Albanese unveils 2 per cent revenue hit for tech giants who shun news deals
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled draft legislation that would impose a 2.25 per cent revenue charge on major tech platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok if they fail to strike voluntary deals with Australian media companies for news content. The government insists the funds will go directly to journalism and not into public coffers, aiming to support local news amid concerns over tech firms' use of journalism for profit. The move risks tension with the US, particularly the Trump administration, which opposes such measures. The scheme applies to large platforms and includes incentives for commercial agreements, with Meta expressing strong opposition.
- ▪The proposed law would levy a 2.25 per cent charge on tech firms' Australian revenue if they don't make news payment deals, reducible to 1.5 per cent with agreements.
- ▪Funds collected under the scheme would be distributed to media organisations based on journalist headcount, not retained by the government.
- ▪Platforms with over 5 million users for social media or 10 million for search services fall under the legislation's scope.
- ▪Meta has criticized the plan as a 'digital services tax' and warned it could pull news content from its platforms in Australia.
- ▪Google remains the only major tech company currently engaged in active commercial agreements with Australian news outlets.
Full article excerpt tap to expand
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T02:03:12Z","datePublished":"2026-04-28T02:03:12Z","description":"The prime minister is pressing ahead with a scheme to make social media giants like TikTok, Google and Meta funnel $250 million into local news content.","headline":"Albanese risks Trump backlash with plan to tax tech giants","keywords":"News Bargaining Incentive, Just in, For subscribers, Anthony Albanese, Facebook, TikTok, Google, Donald Trump, Trump's White House, USA, Screens Ooh! SMH, Screens Ooh! The Age, Screens Ooh! BT, Screens Ooh! WAT","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Sakkal","jobTitle":"Chief political correspondent","url":"/by/paul-sakkal-h17jxj"},{"@type":"Person","name":"David Swan","jobTitle":"Technology editor","url":"/by/david-swan-p53741"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-unveils-2-per-cent-revenue-hit-for-tech-giants-who-shun-news-deals-20260428-p5zron.html","@type":"WebPage"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"1322.6666666666665","url":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.5803%2C$multiply_0.7025%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_432%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/8de1a702e65275a96eb9bed6269339d581db0647","width":"744"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}],"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"628","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/metro-assets/assets/static/smh.png","width":"1200"},"url":"https://www.smh.com.au"},"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","productID":"smh.com.au:webonly"}}{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/politics","name":"Politics"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal","name":"Federal"},"position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/topic/news-bargaining-incentive-1njv","name":"News Bargaining Incentive"},"position":3}]}AdvertisementBreakingPoliticsFederalNews Bargaining IncentiveAlbanese risks Trump backlash with plan to tax tech giantsPaul Sakkal and David SwanApril 28, 2026 — 12:03pmSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAMeta, TikTok and Google could be forced to pay to tens of millions for local journalism under draft laws released on Tuesday.Despite the risk of a backlash from the pro-tech Trump administration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday released draft legislation including a tax worth 2.25 per cent of tech firms’ revenue if they do not strike voluntary agreements with media companies to compensate them for news hosted on social media and search engines.Australia has insisted in its public messaging that the charge on tech giants would not constitute a tax, which could trigger the ire of the US administration and possibly lead to tariffs on Australia.The government said it would not put any revenue into Commonwealth coffers, insisting it would distribute money to media firms based on how many journalists they employ.Albanese dismissed the Trump administration’s objections to the scheme during a press conference on Tuesday.Advertisement“We’re a sovereign nation,” the prime minister said.“This is not about government revenue.…
This excerpt is published under fair use for community discussion. Read the full article at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from The Sydney Morning Herald
