Australia forces Big Tech companies to pay the news or face a 2.25% tax.

Australia is interested in making Big Tech pay for the news. The government of the country revealed to fix the rules on Tuesday which would require companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok to pay for the journalism they aggregate or re-share, or face fines for local content.

Minister of Communications Anika Wells he said at a press conference today: “People are getting their news directly from Facebook, TikTok, and Google.”

The law, known as the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), will impose a 2.25% tax on Australian revenue for the three platforms unless they bargain with local news media. In addition, the more they create with media, the less they pay. If enough agreements are passed, the interest rate will drop to 1.5%, which would make it more central A $200 million and A $250 million back to Australian Journalism.

“Journalists are a vital part of Australia’s media industry, helping to keep people informed about the stories that matter to them,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

This is the country’s second attempt to force Big Tech to fund journalism. The Australian government introduced the Media Bargaining Code, which came into effect in 2021, requiring platforms like Google and Meta to pay publishers. But the original version had a problem where Big Tech companies could simply remove content from their platforms to avoid paying. Meta did this in 2024and move there, he saysit started a widespread work they cut across From Australia newsrooms.

Meta’s decision to release news in 2024 has left a glaring gap in Australian media law. The NBI is the government’s attempt to fix this, and this time, there is no way. Platforms are taxed whether they carry news or not. The Albanian government first announced the NBI in December 2024 as a replacement for the existing 2021 Code, and the draft laws arrived today.

The addition of TikTok shows the growth of Code. And these planning rules do not include AI services. Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said in a press conference today that AI “is not included at this level” because “AI is currently being evaluated through other legal forums, including, for example, the work on copyright that is led by the Attorney-General.”

The Trump administration has been opposed to energy taxes on US companies, and has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on countries that are moving ahead with them. RecentlyTrump has warned the UK that it could face lower tariffs unless London drops its digital tax on US tech giants that profit from British users, including Google, Meta, and Apple.

When a reporter asked about the White House eviction, Albanese said at a press conference, “We are an independent nation, and my Government will make decisions based on the interests of the nation of Australia.

If issued in Australia, platforms have until July to comply, on which date the tax will begin.

Australia is not alone in this battle. Canada, Brazil, and the EU Both have taken Big Tech on the issue, with different results. Canada’s 2023 Act encouraged Meta to release news on its platform. The Brazilian bill has been in effect on the law since 2019. The EU has legislation on the books, but enforcement varies widely. South Africa can offer a very clear plan – the authorities there have entered into direct agreements with Google, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft, obtaining about $40 million in local media over five years.

Meta, Google, and TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.