The legislation applies to tech companies with Australian revenue above $250 million, including Google, Meta, and TikTok, according to the government’s announcement. It remains unclear whether the threshold refers to total Australian revenue or revenue from search and social media services alone. The government noted that Meta closed the Facebook News tab in Australia in 2024 and did not renew licensing agreements with news publishers, and that Meta experimented with removing all news from Facebook and Instagram in Australia. The reasons for Meta's withdrawal from previous commercial agreements remain unclear.
Tech companies can offset the levy by entering commercial agreements with Australian news publishers, and the government says deals are the preferred model. A higher rate of the potential levy will be offset for deals with small to medium news publishers — 170% versus 150% for large ones, according to the government. Google already has existing commercial agreements with news publishers in Australia, according to the government.
Money from the levy would be distributed back to the news media sector to support employment and journalism, the government said. A coalition of news leaders, including Hugh Marks, Michael Miller, Beverley McGarvey, and Rohan Lund, issued a joint statement supporting the draft legislation and called it a 'critical step toward securing the future of Australian news'. They said: 'The vibrancy of Australian democracy relies on the robust and open exchange of news, views and opinions. This is under threat.' They added: 'If digital platforms fail to pay for the use of the news content from which they profit then journalism becomes unsustainable.' The group also stated: 'It is also in the public interest that reliable, professionally created news and information remains accessible and visible on the digital platforms used by millions of Australians…' They noted that 'By prioritising commercial deals this legislation protects our democratic way of life. It has been more than two years since Meta walked away from previous deals and almost 18 months since the government announced the NBI.' They urged all parliamentarians to support safeguarding Australian journalism. The government has not yet set a date for introducing the legislation or detailed the exact mechanism for distributing the levy funds to the news sector.