Australia expands tech-to-news payment law, requiring deals with at least 8 outlets

Australia introduced a reworked version of its media licensing law to parliament on August 13, raising the number of local news deals large tech platforms must strike to at least eight outlets, up from six in an earlier draft, according to Reuters. The revised bill also commits 5% of funds raised under the scheme directly to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), the country's formerly industry-owned newswire that narrowly avoided closure in 2020 and now operates as a non-profit.

How the levy works

Under the law, platforms owe a levy equal to 2.5% of their Australian advertising revenue, offset by the value of commercial deals they strike directly with news publishers. The government reinstated a cap limiting any single deal to 25% of a platform's total levy liability — a change made after discussions between the government and opposition, aimed at preventing platforms from satisfying most of their obligation through one or two large agreements while smaller outlets go uncompensated.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the changes were designed to “better support smaller and diverse media organisations,” reflecting how audiences increasingly access news through a wider range of sources than when the original law was drafted. The scheme now explicitly includes TikTok and Microsoft's LinkedIn alongside Google and Meta, the two platforms targeted by Australia's original 2021 media bargaining law.

Why the law needed reworking

That 2021 law required Google and Meta to negotiate payment deals for news content, with a government-appointed arbitrator empowered to set terms if talks broke down. Both companies initially struck a series of commercial agreements under that framework. But Meta later said it would stop paying for news content in Australia and other markets, prompting Canberra to redesign the regime into its current levy-and-offset structure rather than relying purely on negotiated deals.

What it signals for platform regulation

Australia's original law became a template other governments studied when designing their own tech-to-news payment schemes, and this revision — expanding the outlet-deal requirement, capping single-deal concentration, and folding in newer platforms like TikTok — signals how regulators are adapting those frameworks as both the platform landscape and publisher economics keep shifting. The bill still needs to pass both houses of parliament before taking effect, but the government said the changes followed input from opposition lawmakers aimed at securing broader political support for passage.