White House lashes ‘foreign extortion’ after Labor tightens media bargaining code

“President Trump is committed to defending America’s leading technology sector from digital services taxes and other forms of foreign extortion,” Desai said.

Under the proposed changes, a platform opting not to strike deals would be charged a proportion of their revenue, money which would then be distributed to Australian media organisations.

The government has opened a consultation period on its proposed changes, encouraging submissions until just after the May budget.

Asked about potential backlash from Washington on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We’re a sovereign nation and my government will make decisions based upon the Australian national interest”.

The media bargaining code, introduced under the former Coalition government, was designed to push tech giants to strike deals with media outlets whose news run on their platforms.

But it faced headwinds in 2024, when Meta — the owner of Facebook and Instagram — opted to let its $70 million annual agreement lapse, instead removing news from its Australian feeds.

Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed on Tuesday that the government planned to tweak the code, imposing a cost on tech giants who walk away from the Australian news market entirely.

Wells said the initial legislation was “no longer working effectively” at a time when most Australians were sourcing their news from social media.

A group of leading Australian media executives welcomed the changes on Tuesday, warning the industry would be “unsustainable” without changes to the code.

Linkedin has been explicitly excluded from the new draft legislation just days after Microsoft, the platform’s owner, pledged to invest $25 billion in Australia’s AI infrastructure.

What they said: “The Trump administration will continue to address these issues with our trading partners,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.