Shafaqna English– On Thursday(20 Aug 2026), Australia enacted new legislation that compels global technology companies—including major platforms like Google and Facebook—to pay substantial financial penalties amounting to millions of dollars if they do not reach commercial agreements with domestic news publishers for the distribution of journalistic content on their digital services.
Central to the legislation is the News Bargaining Incentive, which levies a 2.5% tax on advertising revenues earned by tech platforms within Australia, effectively creating a “pay‑or‑negotiate” regime. By setting the threshold at 2.5%, the government has deliberately chosen a rate that is high enough to encourage settlement, yet linked to a revenue base that makes avoidance economically unattractive.
Source: Reuters