Tech giants face new levy to pay for Australian news as Meta calls position ‘simply wrong’

Google, Meta and TikTok will face a 2.25% levy on their local revenues unless they do deals with publishers under a draft news bargaining incentive scheme. Photograph: Danielle Villasana/Reuters

Anthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.

But tech giants Google and Meta have criticised the government’s change. Google rejected the need for the reform and was scathing Labor didn’t include AI platforms, while Meta – which manages Facebook and Instagram – said the government’s position was “simply wrong”.