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Australia Unveils Bold Law to Force Big Tech News Payments

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Australia Big Tech news levy law proposes charges on Meta, Google and TikTok unless they pay publishers for news content or face revenue levies

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The Australian government has unveiled a new legislative proposal that could compel major technology companies, including Meta, Google, and TikTok, to pay local news publishers or face a financial levy on their Australian revenues.

Also read: Israeli President Visits Australia After Deadly Bondi Attack

The proposed framework, known as the News Bargaining Incentive, would impose a 2.25 per cent charge on digital platforms that fail to reach commercial agreements with Australian media organisations for the use and distribution of news content.

According to officials, the funds collected from the levy would not be retained by the government but redirected to news organisations to support journalism and sustain media operations.

The move represents Australia’s latest attempt to ensure that global tech platforms contribute financially to the news ecosystem, given the role of journalism in driving traffic, engagement, and advertising revenue on digital platforms.

Under the proposal, companies would have the option to avoid the levy entirely by entering direct payment agreements with publishers.

The model also includes incentives, with platforms potentially receiving offsets of between 150 and 170 per cent of their liability when they strike deals, particularly with smaller media outlets.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the initiative is aimed at ensuring fairness in the digital economy and supporting public interest journalism.

Communications Minister Anika Wells also defended the proposal, arguing that technology platforms benefit significantly from news content and therefore have a responsibility to help sustain its production.

The policy builds on Australia’s earlier News Media Bargaining Code introduced in 2021, which pushed platforms such as Google and Facebook into commercial agreements with publishers.

However, officials say that framework has weakened in recent years, particularly after Meta opted not to renew some of its agreements with Australian media companies.

The new legislation is being positioned as a stronger “pay or be charged” system, targeting platforms with significant operations in Australia and annual local revenues exceeding A$250 million.

While the government insists the policy is designed to strengthen journalism rather than generate tax revenue, the proposal has already drawn pushback from the technology sector.

Meta has rejected the premise of the scheme, arguing that it does not derive the level of value from news content suggested by policymakers.

Google has also raised concerns while pointing to its existing partnerships with Australian publishers, while TikTok has yet to issue a detailed response.

Australian media organisations have largely welcomed the initiative, describing it as a necessary step to protect journalism amid declining advertising revenues and the growing dominance of global digital platforms.

Also read: Nigerian Ayobami Omoniyi Sentenced in US Wire Fraud Case

The legislation is expected to undergo intense scrutiny in parliament and could also face international pressure, particularly from the United States, where many of the affected companies are headquartered.

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Cement costs more in Nigeria than Kenya, Togo, FCCPC finds

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FCCPC

Cement price manipulation is under investigation by the FCCPC after a three-month study found Nigerian prices were high despite surplus capacity

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Heirs Life Names Pastor Jerry Eze Independent Non-Executive Director

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Heirs Life appoints Jerry Eze as an Independent Non-Executive Director to strengthen financial inclusion, consumer trust and insurance adoption (more…)

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Shoreline Group secures US$200 million Afreximbank Facility

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Shoreline Group today announced that African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$200 million facility in favour of Shoreline Power Company Limited and co-borrowers including Arkad S.p.A., Shoreline’s majority-owned engineering and construction platform.
Approved in June 2026, the facility was arranged and provided by Afreximbank as sole mandated lead arranger and lender. It provides bonding and working-capital capacity for Arkad’s delivery of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz project and supports Shoreline and its affiliates in developing further pipeline and infrastructure
projects in Nigeria and other permitted jurisdictions.
“This is a defining transaction for Shoreline and Arkad. We built Arkad as an African- sponsored engineering platform capable of competing at the highest level, and it is now delivering against a billion-dollar energy contract. Afreximbank’s US$200 million commitment gives the platform the financial strength to match its engineering capability and pursue further major infrastructure mandates. It demonstrates that African enterprises can assemble the capital, capability and partnerships required to compete for infrastructure at international scale.”
Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a Arkad holds 44 per cent of the approximately US$1 billion EPCCS-1 contract awarded by Groupement
Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR) to an unincorporated consortium led by Egypt’s Petrojet, which holds 56 percent. EPCCS-1 covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up for the Phase 2a central processing facility and related infrastructure at the Hassi Bir Rekaiz field in Algeria’s Berkine
Basin.
GHBR is the joint operating entity for the licence, held by Sonatrach with 51 per cent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 49 per cent. The project includes a new crude oil processing facility with capacity of 31,500 barrels per day, facilities for associated gas and produced-water treatment, approximately 217 kilometres
of pipelines and the brownfield modifications required to integrate existing Phase 1 infrastructure.
The facilities are designed to support later expansion to 63,000 barrels per day under Phase 2b.
“This financing addresses the instruments that determine whether an EPC contractor can execute at scale: performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital through the project cycle. Hassi Bir Rekaiz is a demanding scope, combining a new central processing facility, associated treatment systems, pipelines and brownfield integration. With Petrojet, and with the support of Shoreline and Afreximbank, Arkad is focused on disciplined delivery against the project’s safety, quality and schedule requirements.”
The transaction was structured under Afreximbank’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Initiative, which supports African engineering and construction firms with the financial instruments required to compete for and execute large infrastructure contracts. Afreximbank also supported the Arkad-Petrojet partnership through its EPC twinning work at the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers
in 2025.
According to Afreximbank, the transaction is its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor undertaking a major infrastructure project in North Africa. For Shoreline, it demonstrates a practical model for combining African ownership and capital with established international engineering andindustrial capability.

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