Meta said on June 4 that Australia’s proposed 2.25% levy on large tech firms could breach the Australia-US free trade agreement.

The dispute centers on payments to local news publisher.

The draft News Bargaining Incentive would apply to platforms with at least A$250 million (US$179 million) in Australian revenue and either more than 5 million social media users or 10 million search users.

The proposal would replace Australia’s existing framework for negotiating payments between tech platforms and new publishers.

The government said it could raise A$200 (US$140)-A$250 million (US$179 million) a year.

The shift follows Meta’s decision in 2024 to stop paying for news in Australia and let publisher deals worth about A$70 million (US$50.1 million) expire, while Google said it already had commercial agreements.

Public summaries of the trade pact say it protects digital products and services from discriminatory treatment.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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