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The legacy of regulation and enforcement left by Australia’s bold digital platform investigation
07 April 2021 00:00
Duration 16:44
Australia’s world-first antitrust review of Facebook and Google’s business models has spawned a new generation of regulation and enforcement, with the country’s competition watchdog using consumer lawsuits, market inquiries and merger reviews to create one of the western world’s most assertive regulatory regimes. But as a recent MLex Special Report argues, there are signs that the legacy of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s 18-month Digital Platforms Inquiry, which wound up in 2019, could yet be tarnished by the reluctance of Australia’s courts to embrace significant parts of the regulator’s agenda.
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This MLex special report focuses on the worldwide shockwaves that Australia is causing as it charts an experimental course in policing Big Tech.
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