Australia’s competition watchdog is calling for industry feedback on a proposed deal between Woolworths and food services company PFD.
Competition regulator Rod Sims has warned energy retailers must pass on the sharp falls in wholesale electricity prices to their customers.
The pervasive power of tech giants is now on the radar of every regulator globally,many of whom are keenly watching the Australia’s news media bargaining code.
Chairman Rod Sims said Google’s market dominance had created a “take it or leave” bargaining environment but competition could encourage smaller search engines to do deals with media companies.
In recent days internet users have reported Australian news sites disappearing from Google’s search function,with old content and links being displayed.
Rod Sims also opened the door to watering down the key mechanism in the proposed laws to force Google and Facebook to pay for news content.
Competition tsar Rod Sims will not change key elements of a draft regulatory code that would force Google and Facebook to pay news outlets for their content,despite pressure from the tech giants to water it down.
ACCC chair Rod Sims has accused Google of spreading misinformation after it claimed a new regulatory code could jeopardise its services in Australia.
Scamwatch has received 24,000 reports of stolen personal information this year,a 55 per cent rise compared with the same time last year.
The competition watchdog alleges the tech giant did not get the consent of Australian consumers to collect and use their personal information to better target advertisements.
The tech giant has threatened to reduce the availability of news on its platform in Australia if a code of conduct forcing it to share revenue with media outlets is introduced.