While tech giants like Facebook and Google dominate the digital ad market, news media are struggling to survive. Lawmakers around the world are trying to find ways to support independent journalism by rebalancing the relationship between Big Tech and the news industry. Inspired by pioneering laws and policies like Australia’s 2021 News Media Bargaining Code and the European Union’s Digital Copyright Directive, many countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa, are pursuing policies to make Big Tech pay for news.

In CIMA’s latest report, Courtney Radsch analyzes the evidence and justification for proposals that would tax digital advertising, compel Big Tech to negotiate with publishers over content usage, or require platforms to pay licensing fees for using news content. Radsch considers the implications of these policies on news media in developing and low-income countries and stresses the importance of a coordinated global approach to this push for improved media sustainability.