Labor hits back at Zuckerberg, vows to regulate Meta amid tech levy talks
The Meta CEO signalled plans to align with Donald Trump to resist the efforts of foreign regulators. In response, Labor has vowed to enforce its new levy.
Labor has hit back at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with a promise to compel the social media giant to pay news publishers, after the billionaire signalled his company would resist regulatory efforts from foreign governments.
Among the latest regulatory measures is Australia’s new tech levy, which took effect on 1 January. Pitched by Labor as a charge-and-offset scheme, the levy aims to force large tech firms — specifically Meta, Google and ByteDance's TikTok — to pay media companies for news content.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones reiterated that Meta remains a key regulatory focus following Zuckerberg’s comments this week, in which he signalled the company would work with the incoming Trump administration to fend off foreign regulators.
“Big tech companies like Meta have clear social, economic and democratic responsibilities in the countries where they operate,” a spokesperson for Jones told Capital Brief in response to Zuckerberg's remarks.
