Australia to Force Tech Titans to Pay for News

A new Australian scheme would slap a tax on Google and other major tech platforms that will be earmarked to pay for news. Josh Edelson / AFP/File
A new Australian scheme would slap a tax on Google and other major tech platforms that will be earmarked to pay for news. Josh Edelson / AFP/File
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Australia to Force Tech Titans to Pay for News

A new Australian scheme would slap a tax on Google and other major tech platforms that will be earmarked to pay for news. Josh Edelson / AFP/File
A new Australian scheme would slap a tax on Google and other major tech platforms that will be earmarked to pay for news. Josh Edelson / AFP/File

Australia will force Meta and Google to pay for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme unveiled Thursday, threatening to tax them if they refuse to strike deals with local media.
Traditional media companies the world over are in a battle for survival as precious advertising dollars are hoovered up online, AFP said.
Australia wants big tech companies to compensate local publishers for sharing articles that drive traffic on their platforms.
"The rapid growth of digital platforms in recent years has disrupted Australia's media landscape, and it is threatening the viability of public interest journalism," Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told reporters.
"It is important that digital platforms play their part. They need to support access to quality journalism that informs and strengthens our democracy."
Social media platforms with Australian revenue of more than US$160 million a year will be taxed a still-to-be-decided figure earmarked to pay for news.
But they can offset the tax -- or avoid paying it entirely -- if they voluntarily enter into commercial agreements with Australian media companies.
The Australian government indicated the parent companies of Google, Facebook and TikTok would be covered by the tax, which will come into effect next year.
Officials said Elon Musk's X would likely escape because its domestic revenue was too small.
Hundreds of Australian journalists have lost their jobs in recent years as newspapers are shuttered and media companies downsize.
In 2021, Google and Meta struck a string of deals with Australian newsrooms worth a combined US$160 million.
But Meta has indicated it will not renew its deals when they expire in March, arguing that news makes up a tiny portion of its traffic.
The tax will be designed to stop the tech giants from simply stripping news from their platforms, something Meta and Google have done overseas in the past.
A Meta spokesperson on Thursday said Australia was "charging one industry to subsidize another".
Latest salvo
The spokesperson said the "proposal fails to account for the realities of how our platforms work".
Australia's University of Canberra has found that more than half the country uses social media as a source of news.
Supporters of such laws argue that tech titans attract users with news stories and devour online advertising dollars that would otherwise go to struggling newsrooms.
Google and Facebook owner Meta have pushed back against efforts in other jurisdictions to compensate news outlets.
Google started removing links to some California websites earlier this year after the state indicated it would make them pay for traffic driven by news.
Facebook and Instagram have blocked news content in Canada to avoid paying media companies.
It is the latest salvo in Australia's efforts to reign in the tech giants.
Australia last month voted for new laws that will ban under-16s from social media.
It has also mooted slapping fines on companies that fail to stamp out offensive content and the spread of disinformation.



Morocco Bets on Video Game Industry to Provide Jobs and Diversify Economy

 Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mehdi Ben Said speaks during the Morocco Gaming Expo in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday July 2, 2025. (AP)
Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mehdi Ben Said speaks during the Morocco Gaming Expo in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday July 2, 2025. (AP)
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Morocco Bets on Video Game Industry to Provide Jobs and Diversify Economy

 Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mehdi Ben Said speaks during the Morocco Gaming Expo in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday July 2, 2025. (AP)
Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mehdi Ben Said speaks during the Morocco Gaming Expo in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday July 2, 2025. (AP)

Morocco is laying down foundations to build a homegrown gaming industry by establishing a developer hub in the capital, training coders and launching programs to draw tech-savvy youth into the sector.

State officials invited developers, students and tech companies from around the world to a gaming expo in Rabat this week, where guests tested new games, competed in e-sports tournaments and heard about new initiatives to bring the burgeoning industry to Morocco.

Attendees at the Morocco Gaming Expo battled through shooting games, explored immersive virtual reality worlds, tested educational platforms and mingled with mobile providers eager to stake their claim in the growing mobile gaming market.

The event, in its second year, is one of the few ways in which African countries are diversifying their economies and attracting new industries for their young workforces.

Morocco is positioning itself as one of Africa's first countries to roll out targeted strategies for the gaming industry. Mehdi Ben Said, Morocco's Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, said the government aims to both attract international game companies to Morocco and incentivize Moroccan developers to create their own products.

With youth unemployment close to 30% and many young people eyeing opportunities abroad, the gaming industry could be a way to spark job growth and diversify opportunities, he said.

“The objective is not only to generate revenue, but also to empower youth,” Ben Said said. “We must offer real alternatives to our young people by opening up new career opportunities.”

With more than $200 billion in annual revenue and 3 billion players, the global market for video games is undergoing rapid growth. But even as smartphones have become ubiquitous in the Middle East and Africa, the industry has remained concentrated in East Asia, North America and Western Europe.

Driven primarily by game sales, Morocco’s industry currently generates over $500 million annually, according to state officials, who aim to double this revenue by 2030.

Morocco is launching training programs in game design, programming and virtual reality alongside an industrial park where startups can incubate new games. The initiative includes a $26-million investment to open “Rabat Gaming City,” featuring training, co-working spaces and full-scale production studios.

For students the industry offers a chance to turn a passion into a career, said Fadwa Bezzazi, coordinator of Universite Mohammed V's undergraduate club in computer science and virtual reality.

Students, who are already spending money on mobile or PC games, want to find ways to put what they're learning in the classroom into practice.

“I'm not going to say we're preparing them for the future, because that future is already here,” she said.