In early 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced its Digital Advertising Services Inquiry into the “supply of digital advertising technology services and digital advertising agency services.” This report was recently finalised and detailed the absence of competition, choice, and transparency in the digital ad industry, posing serious impacts on publishers, advertisers, and consumers.
As society transcends into the digital world, consumer attention and data become the trading chips that fuel the digital economy. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that cyberspace is controlled by dominant tech platforms, such as Google and Facebook, who tailor specific ads across the supply chain. Google’s overwhelming power is demonstrated by acting on behalf of both publishers and advertisers across the ad tech supply chain, blurring the lines of transparency. This has further been brought to light by Google’s current controversy with the News Media Bargaining Code. Accordingly, the ACCC has conducted this inquiry to address the competitive constraints that are faced by Google’s rivals in this industry, noting issues of competition, barriers to entry, the concentration of market power, auction and bidding process issues, acquisitions in the market, and distribution concerns.
The ACCC is presently seeking public feedback and submissions on the ways to address:
Managing conflicts of interest in the supply of ad tech services,
Enhancing the ability of ad tech providers to assess the price and quality of services,
Promoting competition in this industry by boosting data portability and interoperability, and
Mandating the separation of market control to ensure rival access in the supply of ad tech services.
Moreover, the ACCC is closely following international developments against Google, with notable mentions to Google’s monopolistic power challenge in Texas late last year. Submissions to the report are due by 26 February 2021 with the ACCC providing its final report by 31 August 2021.
For the full reading of the release see here.