Digital Platforms Inquiry 2019

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

2017-2019

Type: ACCC

Government: Coalition

Terms of reference:

The (then) Treasurer, The Hon Scott Morrison MP, wrote to the ACCC on 4 December 2017 directing the ACCC to hold a public inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on competition in media and advertising, pursuant to s 95H(1) of the CCA. The matters for consideration were set out in an accompanying notice:

I, Scott Morrison, Treasurer, pursuant to subsection 95H( 1) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, hereby require the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to hold an inquiry into the impact of digital search engines, social media platforms and other digital content aggregation platforms (platform services) on the state of competition in media and advertising services markets, in particular in relation to the supply of news and journalistic content, and the implications of this for media content creators, advertisers and consumers.

Matters to be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to:

i. the extent to which platform service providers are exercising market power in commercial dealings with the creators of journalistic content and advertisers;

ii. the impact of platform service providers on the level of choice and quality of news and journalistic content to consumers;

iii. the impact of platform service providers on media and advertising markets;

iv. the impact of longer-term trends, including innovation and technological change, on competition in media and advertising markets; and

v. the impact of information asymmetry between platform service providers, advertisers and consumers and the effect on competition in media and advertising markets.

This is not to be an inquiry into supply by any particular person or persons, or by a state or territory authority.

This inquiry is to commence today and submit to me a preliminary report within 12 months and final report within 18 months.

Final report

A final report (394 pages) was released to the public in July 2019 and included 23 recommendations. Full details can be found on the full report page, but the headlines are:

Do digital platforms have market power?

  • Changes to merger law

  • Advance notice of acquisitions

  • Changes to search engine and internet browser defaults

Digital platforms, advertisers and other business users

  • Proactive investigation, monitoring and enforcement of issues in markets in which digital platforms operate

  • Inquiry into ad tech services and advertising agencies

Digital platforms and media - regulatory frameworks

  • Process to implement harmonised media regulatory framework

Digital platforms and media - commercial relationships and monetisation

  • Designated digital platforms to provide codes of conduct governing relationships between digital platforms and media businesses to the ACMA

  • Mandatory ACMA take-down code to assist copyright enforcement on digital platforms

Choice and quality of news and journalism

  • Stable and adequate funding for the public broadcasters

  • Grants for local journalism

  • Tax settings to encourage philanthropic support for journalism

  • Improving digital media literacy in the community

  • Digital media literacy in schools

  • Monitoring efforts of digital platforms to implement credibility signalling

  • Digital Platforms Code to counter disinformation

Digital platforms and consumers

  • Strengthen protections in the Privacy Act

  • Broader reform of Australian privacy law

  • OAIC privacy code for digital platforms

  • Statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy

  • Prohibition against unfair contract terms

  • Prohibition on certain unfair trading practices

Addressing emerging harm from scams, artificial intelligence and other new technology

  • Digital platforms to comply with internal dispute resolution requirements

  • Establishment of an ombudsman scheme to resolve complaints and disputes with digital platform providers

Government response

After further consultation the Government published a response and implementation roadmap in December 2019.

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