Google, Facebook face ‘anti-competitive’ crackdown under Labor

Google and Facebook face a major crackdown over the “anti-competitive effects” digital giants are having on Australia’s democracy under a future Labor government.

Google and Facebook face a major crackdown over the “anti-competitive effects” digital giants are having on Australia’s democracy under a future Labor government.

Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has raised concerns about the “health of our democracy” and the “future of public interest journalism” in a major speech overnight outlining key priorities if Labor wins the federal election.

A soon to be announced plan to improve the National Broadband Network and tougher government regulation for digital platforms like Facebook and Google were among the big ticket items.

Ms Rowland indicated consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, would either have to use its current powers to tackle “anti-competitive” behaviour of the digital giants or new regulation was needed.

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Google and Facebook face a major crackdown over the “anti-competitive effects” digital giants are having on Australia’s democracy under a future Labor government. Picture: Supplied

“The media is in transition and, to the extent there are some anti-competitive effects of the size and scale of the digital platforms’ success, then that needs to be examined,” Ms Rowland said.

“Regulators need to understand this new environment, they need to apply the regulation they have and they need to adapt it, where necessary.”

Ms Rowland said governments had left digital platforms to grow because they were “so transformative” and “nobody wanted to be the person to stifle innovation”.

“Now there is a view that the digital platforms, once the disrupters, are now themselves so big, so vertically integrated, so, as some would argue, monopolistic in their behaviour, that they’re stifling innovation in some respects,” she said.

The Labor frontbencher added it was “up to governments to use the regulatory frameworks they have” or “adapt them where necessary”.

“Clearly, there are some areas of competition law that possibly should have been utilised by now.”

Michelle Rowland, Labor's opposition communications spokeswoman, in Melbourne. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.

Australia’s media was “vital” to the nation’s identity and “the health of our democracy”, Ms Rowland said, adding that Labor “must be satisfied that our local content producers are getting a fair deal”.

“We are concerned about the health of the fourth estate, the large loss of jobs in journalism in recent years and the ongoing consolidation of the news media.”

She added that digital platforms “aren’t the baddies” but government regulation was also not the enemy of innovation.

Ms Rowland also noted Labor would announce a new plan for the NBN before the election.

She said the policy was “close to being finalised”.

“We won’t be offering a quick fix. Nor will we be making promises we can’t keep,” she said.

“What we will present, I believe, is a credible, responsible, and multi-layered plan to improve the NBN.”