The Australian government said Thursday it will tax large digital platforms and search engines unless they agree to share revenue with Australian news media organizations. The tax would apply from Jan.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia plans new rules to "create a financial incentive" for big tech firms to pay Australian media companies for news content on their platforms, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones announced on Thursday.

Australia's government says it will create new rules to force big tech companies to pay local publishers for news. The long-awaited decision sets out a successor to a world-first law that Australia passed in 2021, which was designed to make giants like Meta and Google pay for hosting news on their platforms.

Australia will force Meta and Google to pay for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme unveiled Thursday, threatening to tax them if they refuse to strike deals with local media.

Australia will impose new penalties against tech giants who fail to pay local news organizations for their journalism, the latest move by Canberra to tackle the rising power of global social media companies.

Australia is planning to pass a new rule forcing major tech conglomerates to continue paying media companies to use their content on their social media platforms, government officials said Thursday. The News Bargaining Incentive pressures major tech giants like Meta and Google to renew paid partnerships with Australian media companies or face a fine.