Tech companies invoke possibility of Trump’s wrath in fight against Labor’s media laws

Tech companies are invoking Australia’s free trade agreement with the US and threats of Trump administration retaliation in an attempt to kill off the federal government’s proposal to force them to pay news companies. The news media bargaining incentive is designed to force Meta, Google and TikTok to make commercial deals with Australian media outlets or pay a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues. The Albanese government has been consulting on the draft legislation since April, with submissions closing late last month. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has argued that the news media bargaining incentive is a “discriminatory tax” that is “poorly designed” and “grossly unfair”. It released its formal submission to the draft legislation on Thursday morning, and said it would insulate publishers from competitive pressures by guaranteeing revenue. The company again argued that news organisations share their content on Meta platforms for free because they get commercial benefits. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Meta said the NBI was a “discriminatory, retroactive tax targeting a handful of foreign companies while competitors offering comparable services face no equivalent obligation”. It “plainly violates” the US and Australia free trade agreement, Meta claimed Meta’s position has been echoed by US tech lobby groups, who in letters to the government last month also cited the agreement. …