News Corporation (ASX:NWS), Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC), and Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) have banded together to urge the Albanese government to amend the News Media Bargaining Code, which aims to force online platforms like Meta's Facebook to pay for news content published on their sites, the Australian Financial Review reported Monday.

News Corp Australia Executive Chairman Michael Miller told the publication that the Albanese government must set a timeline to negotiate a renewal of the Code with tech giants.

Introduced in March 2021, the Code enables the government to "designate certain digital platforms" to address a "significant bargaining power imbalance" with Australian news businesses, according to a description on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's website.

The goal was to force tech giants to compensate news publishers, which have been grappling with weak advertising sales. The government has not designated any digital platforms since the Code took effect.

A multi-million-dollar commercial agreement negotiated with Meta was not renewed. Google, on the other hand, struck its licensing deal renewals with media companies last year.

In December 2024, the government said it would introduce a News Bargaining Incentive in hopes of getting commercial deals with tech giants following a Senate inquiry that deemed the Code "broken," according to the Australian Financial Review.

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