Tech threat down under – The Economic Times

Power imbalances exist all over the place in the Australian economy. It’s why Australia has the Big Four banks, and why the two big supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, have Australian farmers over a barrel…. But the stronghold Google and Facebook have on digital advertising that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is trying to address with the news media bargaining code is not just bad for consumers, it’s damaging to democracy.

Data from the Public Interest Journalism Initiative shows that 157 Australian newsrooms have closed temporarily or for good since early 2019. Revenue models for news media include paywalls, subscriptions and donations, as well as advertising. Whether you are The Canberra Times or The New York Times, Google and Facebook are what the ACCC calls ‘unavoidable trading partners’, controlling almost the entire digital advertising market and about 81 cents in every digital advertising dollar in Australia….

The raw market power of Big Tech was on display when both Google and Facebook threatened to withdraw from the Australian market altogether if they did not like the code, which should send a shiver down your spine….

The code won’t magically solve all the problems facing the Australian media, the ACCC also made recommendations on privacy, transparency and other issues. It’s not perfect, but to oppose the bargaining code because it might benefit Rupert Murdoch and News Limited would be to cut off our nose to spite our face.

From ‘Facebook and Google Having Too Much Market Power is a Threat to Democracy’