Tech giants could soon be subject to tougher laws including the introduction of a big tech watchdog and individuals’ rights to delete data if the recommendations of a Senate committee are adopted.
In a report handed down on Thursday, a Senate inquiry into big tech revealed concerns the powerful companies had too high a concentration over the market, resulting in anti-competitive practices.
A patchwork response from existing regulators, such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, also meant there were “significant regulatory gaps”.
The committee chair, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, said big tech was here to stay and, as a result, it was important to strike the right balance on regulation to protect Australians.
“With all Australians interacting with at least one big tech platform daily, it is important that regulations reflect this market concentration and influence,” Bragg said.
“They live under our roof, they must play by our rules.”
Among the eight recommendations to crack down on big tech’s reign is the introduction of new standalone watchdog that would coordinate “collaboration efforts, common responsibilities and tasks” between the existing regulators and would give consumers and digital platforms a central place to turn to.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, indicated the federal government agreed in principle to amend privacy laws to give Australians the right to be forgotten online, allowing for users to demand that digital platforms delete their data.
Another of the report’s recommendations proposes legislating an individual’s right to delete personal data in order to give users more control.
“The committee notes any right of erasure must extend beyond an individual’s ability to delete photos or posts, which they have voluntarily shared online, to encompass biographical, geolocation, browsing habits, ‘likes’ and other data surreptitiously collected and collated by digital platforms,” the committee’s recommendations said.
The report also called for measures to level the playing field for smaller tech entrants. That included laws and mandatory reporting in cases where big tech companies self-preference on their platforms, by giving their own content prominence over competitors.
The committee also recommended the introduction of a public register for advertising material and mandatory reporting for large platforms on algorithm transparency, data collection and user profiling.
The recommendations come as social media giants are under pressure from the Australian government several on fronts.
The Labor government is in the process of overhauling its anti-misinformation bill, which will grant greater powers to regulatory bodies to force social media companies to stamp out “false, misleading or deceptive” content.
Separately, tech companies are pushing back against Australian law enforcement agencies on attempts to weaken end-to-end encrypted services in their efforts to tackle child safety.
