Australia plans 2.25% levy on Big Tech unless it cuts local news deals

Australia released a draft “News Bargaining Incentive” law that would impose a 2.25% levy on Australian revenues of large digital platforms unless they negotiate commercial deals with local news publishers. The measure specifically targets major ad platforms such as Meta and Google and could create a revenue headwind for those companies in Australia if they fail to reach agreements. For Australian markets, the policy increases regulatory risk for global tech firms operating there and could benefit local publishers' monetization — a development investors may price into related stocks and the Australia 200 index depending on implementation and scale of enforcement. The article is primarily informational and does not ascribe an immediate market-moving estimate.