In the wake of threats by Google and Facebook to scale back or close services in Australia should the federal government proceed with plans to charge them for news content, this report identifies serious risks to Australian businesses, government services and consumers if services are withdrawn.

This paper outlines the results of recent polling which shows that the Australian public support tighter regulation of political advertising on social media platforms, from truth in advertising, limits to micro-targeting, to bans on political advertising on social media altogether.