AUSTRALIA FORCES TECH GIANTS TO PAY FOR NEWS – The government will create new rules to force big tech to pay local publishers for news.

Australia plans new rules to “create a financial incentive” for big tech firms to pay Australian media companies for news content on their platforms, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has announced.

The move, described as a “news bargaining initiative”, piles pressure on global tech giants like Facebook-owner Meta Platforms and Google to pay publishers for content or face the risk of paying millions to continue operations in Australia.

The platforms at risk of the charge will be significant social media platforms and search engines with an Australian-based revenue in excess of $250 million, Jones told a press conference.

Australia in 2021 passed laws to make the U.S. tech giants, such as Alphabet’s Google and Meta, compensate media companies for the links that drive readers – and advertising revenue – to their platforms.