‘Grossly unfair’: Meta slams Australia’s bid to make platforms pay for news

Social media giant Meta has hit out at Australia’s latest plans to force digital platforms to support media outlets financially, labelling the proposals “poorly designed” and “grossly unfair.”

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said on Thursday that the government’s News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) would shield news publishers from needing to undertake the innovation necessary for a sustainable media landscape.

“The NBI does the opposite: it insulates publishers from the competitive pressure to evolve by guaranteeing revenue regardless of whether they build sustainable business models,” the California-based tech giant said in a submission to the government.

“This entrenches dependency at the very moment when adaptation matters most.”

Meta also said the “economically incoherent” proposals would not lead to a sustainable news sector and “plainly” violate Australia’s commitments under its free trade agreement with the United States.

“A strong, independent media cannot be built on punitive taxes, levied on foreign companies, with no connection to the value exchanged,” Meta said.

Under the centre-left Labor Party government’s plans, social media and search platforms would face a 2.25 percent levy on Australian revenues if they do not make deals to pay Australian outlets for their news content.

Platforms that reach a set minimum number of commercial agreements would be able to reduce the levy to a rate that in effect would be 1.5 percent.