Meta on Thursday launched a blistering attack on Australia's proposed laws that would compel big tech companies to compensate local publishers for news content shared on their platforms, labeling the legislation as "grossly unfair."
Meta's Strong Opposition
"Our position is clear: this law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry," said Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. "We are vehemently opposed to this legislation. It is discriminatory, economically incoherent, and will not deliver the sustainable news sector that Australian journalists and audiences deserve."
The draft laws specifically target Meta, Google, and TikTok. These companies would first be given an opportunity to negotiate content deals directly with Australian news publishers. If they refuse, they would face a compulsory levy amounting to 2.25 percent of their Australian revenue.
Meta argued that the law unfairly singles out a handful of foreign companies. "It is a discriminatory tax, applied only to a handful of foreign companies," the company said. "Call it what it is: a discriminatory, retroactive tax targeting a handful of foreign companies while competitors offering comparable services face no equivalent obligation."
Global Context
Traditional media companies worldwide are struggling to survive as readers increasingly consume news on social media platforms. Australia aims to close a loophole that allowed social media companies to simply remove news from their platforms to avoid payment. When Canberra proposed similar laws in 2024, Meta responded by removing the news tab for Australian users.
Meta had previously announced it would not renew content deals with news publishers in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany.
Support for the Legislation
Supporters of such laws argue that social media companies attract users with news stories and capture online advertising revenue that would otherwise go to struggling newsrooms. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in April, "Large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code." He emphasized that journalism needs to have a "monetary value attached to it" and "shouldn't be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits with no compensation."
According to the University of Canberra, more than half of Australians use social media as a source of news. The draft laws are expected to be introduced into parliament later this year. Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to regulate big tech companies and social media platforms. In December, it banned under-16s from a range of popular social media platforms, launching a world-first crackdown to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms."
