Google concerned about ACCC’s digital platform recommendations

Google says its Android operating system has been unfairly singled out by the government’s digital inquiry.

Google is concerned about the ACCC’s focus on its Android operating system. Picture: AFP

Google has raised fears about Australia’s landmark regulatory investigation into digital platforms, particularly recommendations to “directly intervene” in the Android smartphone operating system and a proposed revenue sharing deals with news publishers.

Seven weeks after Australia’s competition watchdog final report into digital platforms was publicly released, Google’s local boss Melanie Silva said the technology giant was “broadly supportive of many of the final report’s 23 recommendations”.

But it added that “some require further analysis on the associated costs and benefits”.

In a blog post on Google Australia’s website on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Silva called out two recommendations as being of “particular concern”

The included changes to defaults on Google’s Android operating system and parts of the proposed publisher code.

But while Google noted concerns, its response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s 600 page report was relatively tame compared to that of its digital rival, which lashed regulators in its response on Monday.

Facebook accused the competition regulator of “inaccurate” and “speculative analysis” based on “factual errors” and of misunderstanding the way digital platforms operate. Facebook also rejected the recommendation of a new code of conduct formulated with media companies to pay for fair use of journalistic content and to share data on news rankings.

The cash-rich US tech heavyweights are widely-expected to oppose further regulation, fearing a knock-on effect around the world.

The ACCC’s report, which was released by the Australian Government in July, listed 23 recommendations, including a specialist digital platforms branch within the regulator, changes to the merger law, and also to give advance notice of acquisitions by tech giants that might affect competition in Australia.

Google’s Ms Silva said the ACCC’s recommendation to “directly intervene” in the Android operating system did not take into account Australian market conditions and competition laws. It also failed to justify why it had focused on Android when Apple’s iOS was the most-used mobile operating system in Australia, and Microsoft’s Windows remained the most-used PC-based operating system.

The ACCC’s proposal for regulator-sanctioned negotiation of revenue sharing between digital platforms and news publishers “overlooks existing commercial arrangements between Google and Australian news publishers and the broader value that Google provides through referred web traffic and technology”, she said.

Google claims it sent more than 2 billion visits to Australian news publishers from Australian users last year, and more than 1 billion additional visits to Australian news publishers from international users.

Ms Silva said the tech company recently made ranking updates and published changes to its search ranking guidelines to “help better recognise original reporting and surface it more prominently in search,” she said.

Google was keen to continue to “engage with all interested parties, including government and industry, in the coming weeks”, Ms Silva added.