Nearing two years since Meta walked away from commercial deals with news publishers, the Australian government is attempting to draw the tech giant back in with a proposal to strengthen the News Media Bargaining Code. 

The News Bargaining Incentive consultation paper outlines a plan to deter social media platforms and search engines from avoiding their obligations under the code. 

Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino has not put a timeline on the government’s response to submissions or the legislation’s development. 

Despite broad support for action across the political spectrum, the incentive is already running late, given the consultation paper initially expected in early 2025 was released in November. 

But during a press conference on the consultation paper, Mulino said the government considers passing the incentive a “priority” and understands issues “need to be dealt with in a timely way”.  

Consultation on the incentive is open until 19 December.  

How it will work 

The consultation paper outlines how the incentive would apply to social media platforms and search engines with a gross annual revenue in Australia of at least $250 million, irrespective of whether they carry news content. 

Companies such as Meta, Google and TikTok would be subject to financial penalties for failure to make sufficient commercial deals with either individual or groups of Australian news publishers. 

These deals could take the typical forms of a lump sum payment or a fixed series of payments over a set term, and could extend to other “meaningful contributions to the news sector in Australia” such as funding grants or initiatives supporting public interest journalism. 

The value of existing commercial deals with news publishers is roughly equivalent to 1.5 per cent of gross annual group revenue generated in Australia by relevant companies.  

Under the incentive, penalties could be set at 2.25 per cent of revenue to make independent commercial deals with news publishers a more attractive option than non-compliance for digital platforms. 

The more eligible digital platforms “support” Australian news publishers, the less they will be penalised – possibly reducing their required payment under the incentive to nil.  

According to the consultation paper, the government will consider how to distribute assistance if a platform decides to pay the penalty rather than enter commercial deals. 

Any penalty paid by digital platforms will not be tax-deductable, while eligible expenditure in support of news media production will “generally” be deductable for corporate income tax. 

The consultation paper captures the biggest digital platforms in its scope, but no reference is made to generative AI platforms, which openly use news content with or without permission from publishers. 

Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2025 shows globally, 7 per cent of news consumers use AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, with that number rising to 15 per cent for under-25s. 

Threat of retaliation lingers 

The consultation paper’s release comes amid heightened tensions between Australia and primarily US-based tech giants; Australia’s social media age-restriction requirements are about to come into effect and plans for a local content quota for streaming services were recently announced.  

These moves reportedly led to renewed threats of the Trump administration’s retaliatory tariffs for perceived targeting of US companies.  

Mulino said the consultation paper should not come as a surprise to digital platforms, but the government would watch reactions from stakeholders and “respond accordingly”. 

He stressed the incentive will not target companies based on their location. 

“Based upon the coverage criteria that are spelled out in this consultation paper, we expect that the companies that will be covered will include Meta, Google and TikTok, so there are two US companies and one company not based in the US,” he said. 

“So this is not about where companies are located. This is about issues relating to market power and the use of news content without appropriate fair compensation.” 

The Trump administration has not officially responded to the consultation paper. 

Meta and TikTok are also yet to respond, while Google released a statement highlighting its “long-running support” of the Australian news industry. 

“In the last year alone, we’ve renewed agreements with 60 publishers and we remain the only technology company that has maintained commercial partnerships with the Australian news industry since 2020,” Google said. 

While Google did not follow Meta in completely cutting off deals in 2024, the company did end existing deals years early, with new deals reportedly featuring significantly shorter periods and lower dollar value.  

These differing actions appear to be part of the companies’ respective global strategies, with Meta weaponising its ability to block news publishers from its platforms and Google proactively offering financial incentives to stall regulatory action. 

Question of enforcement 

If the incentive works in getting tech giants back to the bargaining table, it would provide significant relief for Australian news publishers. 

The consultation paper notes Google and Meta’s initial commercial deals made under the code brought up to $250 million of value to the news sector annually. Meta’s deals are estimated to have been worth about $70 million per annum. 

But it is unclear how the incentive will be enforced. 

Under the News Media Bargaining Code, the treasurer can ‘designate’ digital platforms in order to have them enter negotiations for commercial deals with news publishers or face arbitration.

That power has never been used, with emphasis instead placed on incentivising digital platforms to cooperate – a method which failed to keep Meta making deals long-term. 

When questioned on enforcement last month, Mulino did not provide details, but said digital platforms that do not enter commercial deals as required will have to make a payment under the incentive. 

The loss of support from the major digital platforms, which have also upped pressure through new AI ventures and vacuuming of ad spend, hit Australian news publishing hard over the past couple of years, contributing to the downsizing, closures and mergers of several news outlets.

Sezen Bakan