I Think Big Tech May Be Right This Time

Commentary Three years ago, Australia was a world “leader” when it mandated digital platforms, like Facebook and Google, to pay media organisations for news items curated on their platforms. This year Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, and a brood of other social media, has called time on the practice. They are right to do so. It’s an attempt by dinosaur companies to stave off their extinction by taxing their evolved rivals. The legislation also violates normal commercial practice, is a perversion of copyright laws, and grossly unfair to the digital platforms, and could ultimately see them go broke....