The ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry: Government’s Concerns and Industry’s Response

Niloufer Selvadurai and Holly Raiche

Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law

Niloufer Selvadurai and Holly Raiche, ‘The ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry: Government’s Concerns and Industry’s Response’ (2019) 27(1) Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law 39

“In a very short space of time Australians have moved online for their banking, their shopping, their social life, and significantly for the government, for their news, information and entertainment. Unhappily, the federal government's regulatory framework for communications was designed for the pre-online world. The federal government's 2017 "Broadcasting and Content Reform Package" has been developed in order to "improve the sustainability of Australia's free-to-air broadcasting sector, support the creation of high quality Australian content and modernise broadcasting and content regulation". A critical component of this reform package is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Digital Platforms Inquiry. Other elements of the "Broadcasting and Content Reform Package" include the abolition of broadcasting licence fees and datacasting charges, the introduction of a tax on the spectrum used by broadcasters and the repeal of two media control and ownership rules: the "2 out of 3" and "75% audience reach" rules. The purpose of the present note is to outline the background to the Digital Platforms Inquiry, consider its terms of reference, and analyse some of the leading industry submissions to the ACCC.“

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