Australia Proposes 2.25% Revenue Levy on Digital Platforms to Fund News Media

The Australian government has unveiled draft legislation for the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), which would impose a 2.25% levy on the local revenues of major digital platforms including Google, Meta, and TikTok. The initiative is designed to compel these companies to reach commercial agreements with local news publishers. If sufficient deals are struck, the effective levy rate can drop to 1.5%, with the government aiming to redirect A$200 million to A$250 million annually into the domestic journalism sector.

Crucially, the NBI closes a loophole found in the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code by applying the levy regardless of whether a platform hosts news content. This prevents companies from avoiding payments by simply blocking news from their services. The proposal also marks the first time TikTok has been explicitly included in such Australian media regulations, while notably excluding AI services from the current scope of the levy.