Online giants face levy to fund the press

Major online social media firms including Google and Facebook could face levies which would be used to fund newspapers under plans being considered.

State funding should be made available to support local and national newspapers — or democracy in Ireland could be seriously undermined, Fianna Fáil has said. The calls come as this week, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a review of the sustainability of Britain’s printed press, which will look into funding models to ensure the continuation of high-quality journalism at national, regional, and local level.

Fianna Fáil is currently developing legislation which would see a portion of the Vat currently raised from newspapers, ringfenced and directed into the sector.