Big Tech Taxation and Journalism: Paths for Brazil

The operations and business model of Big Tech companies have profoundly reshaped the economic dynamics of various sectors — journalism included. The concentration of advertising revenue on platforms such as Google, Meta, and Amazon deepens the structural crisis of the media, undermining the sustainability of news outlets and threatening the production of public interest journalism — a core pillar of democratic vitality.

One way to reverse — or at least mitigate — this scenario is to rebalance the relationship between journalism and platforms through new tax arrangements. This is because large digital companies, operating with mobility and intangibility, extract value across multiple countries without necessarily establishing a concrete physical presence that, under traditional standards, would justify local taxation. This model concentrates revenue collection in a few jurisdictions (often those offering the most favorable conditions for companies) and prevents a broader redistribution that could contribute to the sustainability of journalism initiatives.

Momentum – Journalism & Tech Task Force is committed to contributing to the urgent and complex debate around legally sound and politically viable tax solutions that not only generate revenue but also serve as mechanisms for economic rebalancing and the promotion of informational justice. As part of this effort, we have produced — in partnership with Lavez Coutinho — a guide report titled Big Tech Taxation and Journalism: Paths for Brazil. The report explores how different countries are addressing this issue, reflects on the state of the national debate, maps current bills and executive initiatives on the topic, and outlines possible paths forward for Brazil.

This material aims to make the tax debate more accessible to a broader audience and is available both in full and in an executive summary format.