Mediated Trust

Contact

As Canada backs down on its media tax, can Australia’s tax work?

ABC Radio National

Katie Hamann, Producer 30 Jun 2025 at 6:00pm AEST

Just two days after President Donald Trump declared he was pulling out of trade negotiations with Canada over its taxes on US tech companies, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced he’ll rescind the Digital Serves Tax which was due to come into force today North America time. 

The move raises questions about whether Australia’s planned tax on big tech, the News Media Bargaining Incentive, is viable in the face of Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

GUEST: 

Terry Flew, Professor of Digital Communications and Culture, The University of Sydney

To listen to the interview click here

Share this article

More News

Social Media Bans For Teens Are Rising Worldwide, But Do They Really Work?

Governments are racing to rein in children’s access to social media as alarm grows over its impact on young minds. Australia’s world-first under-16 ban – the toughest yet – is already showing cracks, with teens easily bypassing restrictions. India is exploring similar curbs in the world’s second-largest smartphone market, where a surge in young users – and low digital literacy – makes enforcement difficult.

Elon Musk vs Sam Altman: how the legal battle of the tech billionaires could shape the future of AI

There was a time when Elon Musk and Sam Altman were friends. But the two tech billionaires are now embroiled in a bitter legal battle in the United States that could reshape not just OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) firm behind ChatGPT they cofounded in 2015, but also the future of the technology more broadly.

I have always seen myself as ‘progressive’ – but with AI it’s time to hit the brakes

At a time when the populist right is on the rise, progressives are shooting blanks while history rushes headlong into an automated future

Analysts say social media giants need to feel global pressure

After the e-Safety Commission revealed that it is investigating some of the world’s biggest social media platforms for suspected non-compliance with the ban on under-16s, analysts are saying it’ll take more than that for the platforms to change their ways. Australian experts say increasing global pressure on social media giants could prove to be the most effective way of enacting change.