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Crackdown on big tech a bit ‘chicken and egg’
Industry Minister Ed Husic points to the digital wallets as an example of where the tech giants have innovated but entrenched its dominance.
Speaking with ABC News Breakfast, Husic acknowledges its there is a bit of “chicken and egg stuff happening here”.
“This is the big thing with the ACCC, when the big
players try to entrench and do so in ways that might cause concerns around competition, you’ve got to get on top of that,” he says.“That’s what we’re trying to do as a government by empowering the watchdog, the ACCC, to look into this. But again, I think that there’s a bit of chicken and egg stuff happening here.
“If we don’t innovate, we get left behind but we don’t want bad behaviour to entrench that.”
Tech giants face $50m in fines under fresh crackdown
Just days after banning under 16s from social media, Labor will today launch a fresh offensive on the tech giants.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones will use a speech to outline a plan to whack companies such as Apple and Google with fines of up to $50 million if they behave anti-competitively.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) would be given new powers to designate platforms that pose the greatest risk to competition for consumers and businesses.
Once designated, companies would have to meet new obligations.
Jones will say for too long platforms have used an unseen algorithm to push its own products and services unfairly, regardless of quality.
The ACCC will oversee compliance with the new framework, with penalties up to $50 million where necessary or 30 per cent of a company’s turnover.
👋 Good morning
Welcome to our politics live blog. Courtney Gould from the ABC’s Parliament House team here to guide you through the day.
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