ACCC wants digital brief

THE competition watchdog is calling for a regulatory body to be given far-reaching powers to investigate and monitor tech giants including Google and Facebook in Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s call was among 11 recommendations in its preliminary report on a world-first inquiry into the impact digital platforms are having locally.

Among its key concerns were the algorithms used by Facebook and Google to rank display advertisements and news content, along with the huge amounts of personal information they collect from consumers.

The ACCC found given the “substantial market power” enjoyed by Facebook and Google in Australia, a new or existing regulatory authority should be given powers to investigate, monitor and report on how they and other large digital platforms rank and display ads and news content.

The algorithms used by Google and Facebook give them the ability to favour related businesses or businesses, with which they may have an existing commercial relationship, over their competitors.

“Organisations like Google and Facebook are more than mere distributors or pure intermediaries in the supply of news in Australia; they increasingly perform similar functions as media businesses,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.