Disruption and dislocation in the media markets should concern all Australians, according to ACCC Chair, Rod Sims.

Reflecting on the recommendations in the final report of the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, Sims noted the regulatory imbalance between traditional media and digital platforms.

A number of the inquiry’s 23 recommendations were directly focused on media and journalism, including the establishment of a new platform-neutral regulatory framework to ensure effective and consistent regulatory oversight of all entities involved in content production or delivery in Australia.

Sims noted that while the digital platforms offer benefits with their ‘free’ services, and most users now have some understanding of how their data is treated, the inquiry found a substantial disconnect between how consumers think their data is used, and how it is actually used.