![Meta_facebook_instagram](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-111107599,width-650,height-488,imgsize-25254,resizemode-75/meta_facebook_instagram.jpg)
Stephen Jones, who is assistant treasurer, also said the U.S. tech giant which owns Instagram and WhatsApp was a "corporate bully" for saying in March that it would quit licensing deals with Australian news media.
"I think Meta like to operate as if they are not bound by the laws of the countries in which they operate, unless it is convenient to them," Jones said in an interview.
"That's not a sustainable business model for any company anywhere in the world, particularly if you want to operate in democratic countries like ours."
A Meta spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Jones' comments reflect an increasingly antagonistic relationship between the first country to force internet giants to pay for news content hosted on their platforms and the world's biggest social media company.
Discover the stories of your interest
Vowing to make any business operating in Australia comply with Australian laws, he said he was still considering applying a new law that would allow a government-appointed arbitrator to decide how much Meta would pay the media for content posted on its sites.
Before deciding whether to step between Meta and the media, which wants government intervention, Jones must take advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the body which oversaw the creation of the News Media Bargaining Code, and the treasury department.
He said he was yet to receive treasury department advice, but "we will take all the steps that are necessary for us to protect the national interest".
After Canada introduced a similar law in 2023, Meta blocked links to news content in the country instead of paying for them, resulting in a surge of misinformation, according to studies.
Jones wouldn't say if he expected similar in Australia, but pointed to a wide-ranging government project to curb social, economic and democratic harms caused by social media.
Jones said his office was talking to several prominent Australians, including mining magnate Andrew Forrest who is fighting Meta in a U.S. court over thousands of scam cryptocurrency advertisements which have appeared on the platform featuring his face.