Facebook opposes calls by Australian media companies for digital platforms to be regulated

Facebook has opposed calls by Australian media companies for digital platforms to be regulated, amid an inquiry into their impact on competition in news and advertising markets, AFP reports. Earlier this year, the government tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with assessing whether platforms such as Facebook and Google were using their market power in commercial dealings to the detriment of users, news media and advertisers. Australian media groups, like their peers worldwide, are losing circulation and advertising revenues to digital competitors. Kerry Stokes, the head of major Australian commercial broadcaster Seven, on Monday urged Canberra to take “serious action” against the two online titans. Facebook has come under fire globally after it admitted that the personal data of up to 87 million people worldwide – including more than 300,000 Australians – were improperly shared with a British political consultancy.