Meta accuses Australia of violating free trade agreement, citing US trade actions.

Meta criticized Australia's proposal to levy a new tax on certain tech giants that have not reached authorization agreements with local media, which violates the free trade agreement signed with the United States, exacerbating a five-year-old brewing dispute. The trillion-dollar company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, stated that the proposal to levy a tax equivalent to 2.25% of its total revenue in Australia- including revenue unrelated to social media- is "unreasonable," and its intensity exceeds the measures that previously triggered a response from the US government. Meta had previously objected to the so-called "news bargaining incentive" measures announced by the left-wing government in Australia. However, its latest statement suggests that the law may exacerbate geopolitical tensions between the two allied countries. In a blog post released on Thursday, Meta stated that the tax "clearly violates the commitments Australia and the United States made in the bilateral free trade agreement, which require Australia to provide American companies with treatment 'no less favorable' than their Australian counterparts."