‘We never thought anyone would be that crass’: Media code designer roasts Meta
The architect of Australia’s original News Media Bargaining Code has welcomed the government’s rebooted plan to make tech giants pay for journalism, saying it closes a critical loophole that allowed Meta to avoid paying by simply removing news from its platform.
Rod Sims, the former ACCC chairman who designed the 2021 code, told this masthead the new policy directly addresses Meta’s threat to withdraw news content – a tactic the company deployed in Canada and briefly in Australia when the original legislation was being debated.
Former ACCC chair Rod Sims.Credit: Jamila Toderas
“We didn’t envisage when we brought it in that anybody would be crass enough to take all media off their platform. We just never thought anybody would do that,” Sims said. “But given that Facebook have done that, then what the government’s now responded with is an excellent move.”
Under Labor’s plan, tech companies including Meta and Microsoft will face charges calculated as a share of their Australian revenue – charges they can only avoid by striking commercial deals with news publishers. Every dollar invested in media partnerships reduces the penalty by $1.50, making payment the most financially attractive option.
Meta, which earned an estimated $5 billion in Australian revenue in 2022, faces a clear choice: pay $75 million to publishers and avoid the charge entirely, or face a $112.5 million bill from the Australian Taxation Office.
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The policy marks a significant escalation in Australia’s battle with big tech over journalism funding. Meta shocked publishers in early 2024 when it announced it wouldn’t renew commercial deals worth about $70 million struck under the 2021 code.
Sims said the original code was “very successful” in achieving close to $250 million a year in payments to media companies through privately negotiated deals. However, it had a critical weakness when platforms such as Meta could simply remove news content.
“Google can’t run a search engine without media,” he said. “But Facebook can do that. This initiative fills that gap and says, ‘No, you’ve got to pay whether you’re carrying news or not.’ ”
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta earned an estimated $5 billion in Australian revenue in 2022. Under the new plan it could pay $75 million to publishers and avoid the charge entirely, or face a $112.5 million bill from the Australian Taxation Office.Credit: Bloomberg
The former competition watchdog chief said the stakes were existential for Australian democracy.
“Media is just fundamental to a well-functioning democracy. You know, it’s not called the fourth estate for nothing,” he said. “The platforms are basically stealing the content without paying for it.”
Alex Wake, president of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, echoed those concerns. “It’s really frightening to consider just how few people have such control over information right now,” Wake said.
“I’m genuinely worried by the lack of information options now available in most communities, not just here in Australia but in many other parts of the world.”
Tim Duggan, chairman of the Digital Publishers Alliance, said the approach corrected flaws in the original code. “One of them was that there was previously no recourse for platforms like Meta withdrawing from news, so by fixing this obvious flaw it’s taken the bullet out of the gun they had pointed at our news industry,” he told this masthead.
MEAA chief executive Erin Madeley welcomed the government’s move but stressed the need for transparency. “This scheme must be accompanied by greater transparency and guarantees that any revenue that is raised is invested back into journalism – not be used to reward shareholders or inflate company profits,” Madeley said.
Microsoft said the company has a long-term commitment to Australia’s economic success and national security.Credit: Bloomberg
“MEAA also looks forward to working with the government to ensure the initiative enables small, local and rural media outlets to benefit from agreements.”
However, Sims raised concerns about implementation time, warning that Google’s deals under the existing code largely expire in the middle of 2026.
“We just need to get moving with this because the Google deals largely expire in the middle of next year,” Sims said. “We don’t want people starting to have to fire journalists just because all this isn’t wrapped up.”
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He said legislation needed to be passed “very, very early in 2026”, adding: “The government first announced this a year ago. We need to get on with it very quickly. It cannot wait.”
Sims also expressed concern that platforms aren’t required to negotiate with all eligible media companies under the new proposal, unlike the original code.
Questions remain about how payments will be distributed between large and small publishers, with Treasury proposing proportional caps or greater relief for smaller media companies. Public consultation closes on December 19, with the government indicating it wants to backdate the scheme to January 1, 2025.
Microsoft said it would “continue to engage constructively on the important issue of addressing the bargaining power imbalance between large digital platforms and Australian news businesses”.
A Meta spokeswoman said: “We will review the proposal, and look forward to participating in the government’s consultation process.”
A Google spokesman said, “Since 2020, we have signed agreements with 88 Australian publishers, representing 226 media outlets across the country. In the last year alone, we’ve renewed agreements with 60 publishers and we remain the only technology company that has maintained commercial partnerships with the Australian news industry since 2020.
“Beyond these commercial partnerships, we’ve supported the Australian news industry for two decades and continue to actively support and provide initiatives for the industry’s digital transformation.”
When asked what would happen if Meta removed news from its platform as it did in Canada, Sims was blunt: “Under this new law, they’d still have to pay.”
He added: “If you’re not going to follow Australian laws, then you shouldn’t be here. These are the laws of the land, and anybody here has to abide by them.”
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