SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Australia's centre-left

government on Thursday will unveil new rules that could impose

fines on Big Tech companies if they refuse to continue to pay

Australian media firms for news content hosted on their

platforms, local media reported.

Under the proposed new rules, any internet company that

refuses to negotiate with publishers or removes news from its

platform, as Facebook-owner Meta Platforms ( META ) did in

Canada, would be forced to pay regardless, reports said.

Australia Communications Minister Michelle Rowland's office,

Meta and Google did not immediately respond to a request seeking

comment.

Australia in 2021 passed laws to make the U.S. tech giants,

such as Alphabet's Google and Meta, compensate media

companies for the links that drive readers - and advertising

revenue - to their platforms. The government has the power to

set the fees if negotiations fail.

Meta struck deals with several Australian media firms

including News Corp ( NWSA ) and national broadcaster Australian

Broadcasting Corp but has since said it will not renew those

arrangements beyond 2024.

Meta, which also owns Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, has

been scaling back its promotion of news and political content to

drive traffic and says news links are now a fraction of users'

feeds. It has said it would discontinue a tab on Facebook

promoting news in Australia.