Over the last two decades, the media and advertising sector has experienced dramatic technological change both within Australia and globally. These changes have delivered substantial benefits to consumers, but have also shifted advertising revenues away from traditional media. Concerns have been expressed that these changes have adversely impacted the quality of news and journalistic content.
As part of a parliamentary agreement to pass significant reforms to Australia’s media laws (see our earlier update), the government agreed to ask the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct an 18-month inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on content creators, advertisers and consumers.