Australia forces Big Tech firms to pay for news or face a 2.25% tax
Australia forces Big Tech firms to pay for news or face a 2.25% tax
澳大利亚强制大型科技公司为新闻付费，否则将面临 2.25% 的税收
Australia is getting serious about making Big Tech pay for news. The country’s government unveiled draft legislation on Tuesday that would require companies like Meta, Google, and TikTok to pay for the journalism they aggregate or reshare, or face a levy on their local revenues. 澳大利亚正认真对待让大型科技公司为新闻付费的问题。该国政府周二公布了立法草案，要求 Meta、谷歌和 TikTok 等公司为其聚合或转发的新闻内容付费，否则将对其本地收入征收税款。
Communications minister Anika Wells said at a press conference today: “People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok, and from Google.” 通信部长安妮卡·威尔斯（Anika Wells）在今天的新闻发布会上表示：“人们越来越多地直接从 Facebook、TikTok 和谷歌获取新闻。”
The proposed law, called the News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), would impose a 2.25% levy on the Australian revenues of the three platforms unless they strike commercial deals with local news publishers. Plus, the more deals they make with media outlets, the less they pay. If enough agreements go through, that effective rate drops to 1.5%, which could generate between A$200 million and A$250 million back into Australian journalism. 这项名为“新闻议价激励”（NBI）的拟议法律规定，除非这三家平台与当地新闻出版商达成商业协议，否则将对其在澳大利亚的收入征收 2.25% 的税款。此外，他们与媒体机构达成的协议越多，支付的税款就越少。如果达成的协议足够多，有效税率将降至 1.5%，这有望为澳大利亚新闻业回流 2 亿至 2.5 亿澳元的资金。
“Journalists are the lifeblood of Australia’s media sector, playing a vital role in keeping communities informed about the news that matters to them,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement. 澳大利亚总理安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯（Anthony Albanese）在一份声明中表示：“记者是澳大利亚媒体行业的命脉，在让社区了解与他们相关的新闻方面发挥着至关重要的作用。”
It is the country’s second attempt to force Big Tech to fund journalism. The Australian government introduced the News Media Bargaining Code, which officially came into effect in 2021, requiring platforms like Google and Meta to pay news publishers. But the original version had a flaw that Big Tech companies could simply remove news from their platforms to avoid paying. Meta did that in 2024, and that move, reportedly, triggered widespread job cuts across Australian newsrooms. 这是该国第二次尝试强制大型科技公司资助新闻业。澳大利亚政府曾于 2021 年正式实施《新闻媒体议价准则》，要求谷歌和 Meta 等平台向新闻出版商付费。但最初的版本存在一个漏洞，即大型科技公司可以通过简单地从其平台上删除新闻来规避付费。Meta 在 2024 年采取了这一行动，据报道，此举引发了澳大利亚新闻编辑室的大规模裁员。
Meta’s decision to pull news content in 2024 left a pretty obvious gap in Australia’s media rules. The NBI is the government’s attempt to fix it, and this time, there’s no workaround. Platforms get taxed whether they carry news or not. Meta 在 2024 年撤下新闻内容的决定，在澳大利亚的媒体规则中留下了一个明显的漏洞。NBI 是政府试图修复这一问题的举措，这一次，没有任何变通办法。无论平台是否承载新闻，都将被征税。
The Albanese government first announced the NBI in December 2024 as a replacement for the existing 2021 Code, and the draft legislation finally landed today. TikTok’s inclusion marks a notable expansion from the Code. And the draft legislation explicitly excludes AI services. 阿尔巴尼斯政府于 2024 年 12 月首次宣布 NBI，旨在取代现有的 2021 年准则，该立法草案最终于今天出炉。TikTok 的加入标志着该准则范围的显著扩大。此外，立法草案明确将人工智能服务排除在外。
Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said at today’s press conference that AI “is not included in the scope of this measure” because “AI is currently being examined through a range of other policy forums, including, for example, the work on copyright being led by the Attorney-General.” 助理财政部长丹尼尔·穆利诺（Daniel Mulino）在今天的新闻发布会上表示，人工智能“不在此项措施的范围内”，因为“人工智能目前正通过一系列其他政策论坛进行审查，例如由总检察长领导的版权相关工作。”
The Trump administration has consistently opposed digital services taxes on U.S. tech companies, repeatedly threatening tariffs against countries that push ahead with them. Most recently, Trump has warned the U.K. that it could face steep tariffs unless London drops its digital services tax on U.S. tech giants that derive value from British users, including Google, Meta, and Apple. 特朗普政府一直反对针对美国科技公司征收数字服务税，并多次威胁要对推进此类税收的国家实施关税。最近，特朗普警告英国，除非伦敦取消对从英国用户身上获利的美国科技巨头（包括谷歌、Meta 和苹果）征收的数字服务税，否则英国可能面临高额关税。
When a journalist asked about the pushback from the White House, Albanese said at the press conference, “We’re a sovereign nation, and my Government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest. We do that right across the board.” 当记者问及白宫的反对意见时，阿尔巴尼斯在新闻发布会上表示：“我们是一个主权国家，我的政府将基于澳大利亚的国家利益做出决定。我们在所有方面都是这样做的。”
If passed in Australia, platforms have until July to comply, the same date the levy kicks in. Australia isn’t alone in this fight. Canada, Brazil, and the EU have all taken on Big Tech over news, with mixed results. Canada’s 2023 law resulted in Meta pulling news from its platform entirely. Brazil’s bill has been stuck in legislative limbo since 2019. The EU has rules on the books, but enforcement varies widely. South Africa may offer the clearest blueprint — regulators there brokered direct deals with Google, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft, securing roughly $40 million for local news outlets over five years. 如果该法案在澳大利亚获得通过，平台必须在 7 月前合规，这也是征税开始的日期。在这场斗争中，澳大利亚并不孤单。加拿大、巴西和欧盟都曾因新闻问题与大型科技公司交锋，但结果各异。加拿大的 2023 年法律导致 Meta 完全从其平台上撤下了新闻。巴西的法案自 2019 年以来一直处于立法停滞状态。欧盟虽然有相关规定，但执行力度差异很大。南非或许提供了一个最清晰的蓝图——那里的监管机构与谷歌、Meta、TikTok 和微软达成了直接协议，在五年内为当地新闻机构争取到了约 4000 万美元的资金。
Meta, Google, and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Meta、谷歌和 TikTok 没有立即回应置评请求。