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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
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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.

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US Reportedly Pushes Vietnam to Decouple from Chinese Tech

A merchant carries goods that she bought at Long Bien Market, one of the largest wholesale markets in Hanoi, in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
A merchant carries goods that she bought at Long Bien Market, one of the largest wholesale markets in Hanoi, in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
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US Reportedly Pushes Vietnam to Decouple from Chinese Tech

A merchant carries goods that she bought at Long Bien Market, one of the largest wholesale markets in Hanoi, in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
A merchant carries goods that she bought at Long Bien Market, one of the largest wholesale markets in Hanoi, in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

The United States is pushing Vietnam in tariff talks to reduce the use of Chinese tech in devices that are assembled in the country before being exported to America, three people briefed on the matter said.

Vietnam is home to large manufacturing operations of tech firms such as Apple and Samsung, which often rely on components made in China. Meta and Google also have contractors in Vietnam that produce goods such as virtual reality headsets and smartphones.

The Southeast Asian nation has been organizing meetings with local businesses to boost the supply of Vietnamese parts, with firms showing willingness to cooperate but also warning they would need time and technology to do so, according to one person with knowledge of the discussions.

The Trump administration has threatened Vietnam with crippling tariffs of 46% which could significantly limit access for Vietnam-made goods to their main market and upend the Communist-run country's export-oriented growth model.

Vietnam has been asked "to reduce its dependency on Chinese high-tech," said one person familiar with the discussions. "That is part of the restructuring of supply chains and would in turn reduce US dependency on Chinese components," the person added.

The ultimate objective is to speed up US decoupling from Chinese high-tech while increasing Vietnam's industrial capacity, a second person said, citing virtual reality devices as an example of Vietnam-assembled products that are too dependent on Chinese technology.

All sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. Reuters was not able to learn if the US has proposed numerical targets such as caps on Chinese content for "Made in Vietnam" goods or different tariff rates based on the amount of Chinese content.

Apple, Samsung, Meta and Google did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.
As the US-imposed deadline of July 8 nears before the tariffs take effect, the timing and scope of a possible deal remain unclear.

All sources stressed that while the US has made broader requests for Vietnam to reduce its reliance on China, tackling the issue of Chinese high-tech content in exports was a key priority.

Last year, China exported around $44 billion of tech such as electronics components, computers and phones to Vietnam, about 30% of its total exports to the country.

Vietnam shipped $33 billion of tech goods to the United States or 28% of the US-bound exports. Both flows are on the rise this year, according to Vietnam's customs data.

Vietnam's trade ministry did not reply to Reuters requests for comment. Separate sources have previously said that US demands were seen as "tough" and "difficult" by Vietnamese negotiators.

The US also wants Vietnam to crack down on the practice of shipping Chinese goods to America with misleading "Made in Vietnam" labels that draw lower duties - which Vietnam is also trying to heed.

The ministry said on Sunday that a third round of talks last week in Washington ended with progress, but critical issues remain unresolved.

Vietnam's ruling Communist Party chief To Lam intends to meet US President Donald Trump in the United States, possibly in late June, officials with knowledge of the matter said. No date has been announced for the trip.

The White House and Vietnam's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the possible visit.

NOT TOO FAST

Local firms attending meetings organized by the trade ministry in recent weeks expressed a general willingness to adapt, but many warned that instant changes "would destroy business", according to one of the sources.

Vietnam has been slowly developing an industrial ecosystem with local suppliers but it has a long way to go before it can match China's advanced supply chains and cheaper pricing, industry executives say.

"Vietnam is about 15–20 years behind China in somewhat fully replicating its supply chain scale and sophistication, but it's catching up fast, especially in key sectors like textiles and electronics," said Carlo Chiandone, a Vietnam-based supply chain expert.

Abrupt changes to existing practices may hurt Vietnam's delicate relationship with China, which is both a major investor in its Southeast Asian neighbor and a source of security concerns.