Australia: Google, Facebook distorting advertising markets accuses News Corp

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation accused Facebook and Google of “anti-competitive practices” in one of dozens of submissions to a probe of the tech giants released Thursday, May 3, by Australia’s competition watchdog.

A total of 57 media companies, advertisers and journalist groups put forward their cases for changes in the operations of the internet titans, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported.

News Corp, the country’s main newspaper group, its main competitor Fairfax Media and commercial broadcasters led the charge in arguing that Facebook and Google’s dominance of digital advertising significantly undermined the news industry.

“A number of digital platforms possess substantial market power and are engaging in anti-competitive practices that prevent publishers such as News Corp Australia from competing on the merits,” the company said in a 144-page submission.

“These practices have the potential to profoundly damage the creation, distribution and consumption of news and journalism in Australia.”

Murdoch and other executives from the company, which also owns The Wall Street Journal and the Times of London, have long led calls for Facebook and Google to “level the playing field” and pay news companies for their content.

Full Content: The Australian

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