The Trump administration has hit back at Australia’s plan to force large technology platforms to pay for news, describing the move as “extortion” and signalling that Washington may scrutinise the policy closely. The row centres on Labor’s proposed News Bargaining Incentive, which would press companies including Meta, Google and TikTok to strike commercial agreements with Australian publishers or face a 2.25% levy on local revenue.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the scheme as a matter of basic fairness for journalists and media companies whose work is used to generate profits elsewhere. Speaking on Wednesday, he said intellectual property should be valued and that news organisations should be paid when their reporting is monetised by others. He also stressed that the government did not expect to raise money from the levy itself, because the aim is to push platforms into deals rather than tax them directly.
The proposal has quickly become a trans-Pacific trade and technology dispute. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represents major US technology companies, called the plan discriminatory and urged the US government to challenge it, while Google and Meta both criticised the reform. According to the Australian Financial Review, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said President Donald Trump was committed to defending the US technology sector from digital services taxes and other foreign measures he views as punitive.
Despite the backlash, the plan may still clear parliament. Matt Canavan, the Nationals leader, has voiced support for making big tech contribute to news services, while the Greens say they want more detail on how any payments would be distributed and whether smaller and regional outlets would benefit. Communications Minister Anika Wells has argued that digital platforms have become central to how Australians consume news, adding pressure on publishers whose business models have been undermined by the shift online.
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Source: Noah Wire Services