Meta slams Australia’s bid to make tech giants pay for sharing news articles

AFP

3 Jun, 2026 11:36 PM2 mins to read

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Meta faces a compulsory levy that will amount to 2.25% of their Australian revenue.

Tech giant Meta has attacked Australia’s “grossly unfair” bid to make social media companies pay for news, saying it is vehemently opposed to the draft laws.

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

Meta, the parent company of Facebook
and Instagram, said in a statement: “Our position is clear: this law is poorly designed, grossly unfair, and will fail to deliver a diverse and sustainable news industry.

“We are vehemently opposed to this legislation. It is discriminatory, economically incoherent, and will not deliver the sustainable news sector that Australian journalists and audiences deserve.”

Social media companies including Meta, Google and TikTok will first be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers. If they refuse, they face a compulsory levy that will amount to 2.25% of their Australian revenue.