2025-03-21
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has responded to the calls from US tech billionaires for Donald Trump to “punish” Australia for our world leading regulation of tech platforms.
Quotes attributable to Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for communications:
“Donald Trump is not our President and Australians won’t be bullied by Trump’s tech oligarchs.
“Australia has led the way with initiatives such as the News Media Bargaining Incentive to level the playing field between these massive US backed global corporations and the journalists and media outlets that they take content from.
“Platforms like Meta and Google don’t make content, they make their profits by ripping off the content of others.
“Streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Disney make mega profits of Australian subscribers without any regulation or requirement to invest in the local industry and Australian storytelling.
“As a sovereign and independent country, Australia has the right to make laws that represent our values as a fair society and protect our citizens online. We will not allow tech billionaires to undermine measures that keep our communities safe and cohesive.
“Recently, the Greens announced our plan to raise $11.5 billion by taxing the tech giants for the massive profits they make off Australian consumers. If they want to do business in Australia, they need to abide by Australian laws and pay Australian taxes.
“We are now getting almost daily examples to show that in the Trump era our relationship with the US has fundamentally changed and it is time for Australia to chart a course for ourselves independent of the US.”