Australian Greens Recommend Digital Services Tax to Regulate Big Tech in Australia Meta Description Options:

As the world's biggest tech companies change how people use and consume information, governments worldwide are more determined to regulate this matter and impose taxes on those companies. Some countries already implement the Digital Services Tax (DST), while others are either considering or making some changes.

One country that might consider implementing the DST is Australia, where the latest report on digital platforms recommends that the Australian Government introduce such a tax.

Reasons To Implement Digital Services Tax

The Australian Parliament Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society (Committee), appointed to report on the influence and impact of social media on Australian society, published the Second interim report on digital platforms and traditional news media (Report).

The need for this report emerged as Meta decided not to respect the deals under the News Media Bargaining Code. The report focuses on the correlation between Meta's decision and Australian journalism, news, and public-interest media's role in fighting against misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms.

After thoroughly examining the Australian and international regulatory framework on digital platforms, including the EU, the UK, and Canada, the influence of social media platforms in Australia, and the impact of digital platforms on the Australian media landscape, the Committee made several recommendations to tackle the recognized challenges.

These recommendations, among others, include establishing a Digital Affairs Ministry and Digital Media Competency Fund, financed from the revenue generated from the proposed digital platform levy and introducing measures similar to those under the EU Digital Services Act.

The Australian political party, the Greens, issued a public statement and official comments to the Report, stating that the Australian government should introduce DSTs similar to those in France and Canada. 

Conclusion

Based on the information in the Report, the Australian government will likely take steps to protect the media and journalism landscape. As Meta decided not to follow the News Media Bargaining Code rules, social media companies are generally under pressure in Australia.

Apart from establishing stricter rules to oversee digital platform activities and reduce the spreading of misinformation, one of the proposed measures is to introduce a DST and further tax the collecting, selling, and exploiting of data relating to Australian citizens.

Source: Second Interim Report: Digital Platforms and the Traditional News Media, Parliament of Australia - Australian Greens' Additional Comments, The Greens - Wholesale Digital Reform Needed to Tackle and Tax Big Tech Corporations