Heat on tech giants after poll

Major media companies are demanding the re-elected government keep the pressure on tech giants.

The role of the social media giants is set for increased scrutiny in the early weeks of the new government. Picture: AFP.

Australia’s major media companies are demanding the re-elected Coalition government keep the pressure on tech giants Google and Facebook and overhaul an outdated regulatory framework as the ABC faces cuts to jobs and services.

With its finances buoyed by an unprecedented $85 million advertising election spend, the industry is also looking forward to a recovery in the broader advertising market that has seen the worst conditions since the global financial crisis.

Executives will be looking to a refreshed cabinet to see if Mitch Fifield is returned to the Communications portfolio amid some speculation he may move to another portfolio.

While the media and telecommunications industries had a low profile in policy discussions during the election, the role of the social media giants is set for increased scrutiny in the early weeks of the new government with the release of the final report of the landmark inquiry by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission into digital platforms next month.

Industry sources said the re-election of the Liberal government meant the inquiry — ordered by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2017 when he was Treasurer — was likely to face fewer delays and obstacles than it may have under Labor, where there was a risk that big tech and big media would be lumped together.

Network 10 chief operating officer Annabelle Herd said the ACCC’s final report on digital platforms would “be the first big issue that they’re going to have to deal with, grapple with”.

“We were very encouraged by the ACCC’s first report on this, even the fact that it recognises the market power that Google and Facebook have and other digital platforms, and recognises that there are some real challengers for traditional media companies in engaging with those platforms,” Ms Herd told The Australian.

The ACCC’s preliminary report in December last year outlined 11 recommendations to hold digital platforms to account, including closer scrutiny of their activities by a government agency, tough new data collection rules and overhaul of rules that give them an advantage over traditional media.

The media industry also wants the government to get rid of old media legislation, including an election advertising blackout law that predates the internet and other data-enabled technologies, including digital platforms.

Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner said he wanted an overhaul of Australian content rules, which date back to the 1970s, to reflect changes across the industry and viewing habits and the regulatory imbalance against the tech giants.

“We want to get on with it and hope the government does too,” Mr Worner said.

Ms Herd said the current regulatory framework was “just a mess of old platform rules” that were sometimes applied to new platforms.

The inconsistencies were highlighted during the election, with a ban on advertising on radio and television, but not on streaming services owned by those same companies, or media such as YouTube.

“You’ve got media companies that are operating across multiple platforms with different regulatory frameworks applying, depending on what pipe people are receiving content by, which is just crazy, and has to be looked at,” she said.

The election ad blackout law was “the perfect case for the things that are wrong with the framework at the moment”, plus Australian content requirements that dated back to 1961, Ms Herd said.

Nine Entertainment said it wanted the government to level the playing field for media companies against new, unregulated entrants, adopting the pro-competitive recommendations arising from the digital platforms review and reforming the Australian content rules to reflect how people were watching TV.

Free TV, which represents the commercial free-to-air TV broadcasters, also urged Morrison’s government to act on the ACCC’s recommendations and overhaul outdated regulatory frameworks, particularly rules around Australian content.

Free TV CEO Bridget Fair said another important task was the review of the determination in 2000 under then Communications Minister Richard Alston that streaming was not broadcasting, which is set to expire in October.

“That is probably going to be quite a significant priority for the new minister or if its Minister Fifield again to review,” Ms Fair said.