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Facebook, Google brace for the release of Australia’s ground-breaking digital platforms report
14 June 2019 00:00
Duration: 23:24
It has been a year and a half since the Australian government told its competition watchdog to investigate the impact of digital platforms including Facebook and Google on the country’s media and advertising issue, and now the regulatory is preparing to hand its final report to government. Among the expected recommendations are the creation of a digital-platforms regulator, or an expanded role for existing regulators to take on the technology giants, along with tighter privacy protections and clearer guidelines to oversee acquisitions of nascent rivals by established online platforms. What started off as a narrowly focused examination of the decline of the newspaper industry has ballooned into a comprehensive list of regulatory remedies to counter the platforms growing presence on different Australian markets.
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05 June 2019 00:00 by Laurel HenningCalls for the establishment of a digital regulator to monitor Facebook and Google’s use of algorithms in ranking online content are expected to feature prominently in the final report on Australia’s world-first inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on the advertising and news industries.
Editorial Team
James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific

James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more
Laurel Henning Senior Correspondent

Laurel is a senior correspondent specializing in competition law, data privacy and security, in Australia and New Zealand. Laurel reports from Sydney on criminal-cartel legislation and white-collar crime, as well as competition and consumer lawsuits involving companies including Google, Meta Platforms and Apple. While at MLex Laurel has also reported boardroom disputes and shareholder campaigns agitating for changes to company strategy. Laurel joined MLex in 2013 and reported for five years on European energy and... Read more