Australia to force tech titans to pay for news [Video]

Australia will force Meta and Google to pay for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme unveiled Thursday, threatening to tax them if they refuse to strike deals with local media.

Traditional media companies the world over are in a battle for survival as precious advertising dollars are hoovered up online.

Australia wants big tech companies to compensate local publishers for sharing articles that drive traffic on their platforms.

“The rapid growth of digital platforms in recent years has disrupted Australia’s media landscape, and it is threatening the viability of public interest journalism,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told reporters.

“It is important that digital platforms play their part. They need to support access to quality journalism that informs and strengthens our democracy.”

Social media platforms with Australian revenue of more than US$160 million a year will be taxed a still-to-be-decided figure earmarked to pay for news.

But they …