Australia proposed a law on Monday that could impose fines of up to A$50 million ($33 million) on global technology companies if they suppress competition and prevent consumers from switching between services.
The centre-left Labor government has targeted Big Tech's influence, and parliament passed a law last week that banned social media for children aged under 16.
The proposed law would empower Australia's competition regulator to oversee compliance, investigate anti-competitive practices online and fine companies, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said in excerpts of a speech due later on Monday.
"The digital economy challenges our current legal framework," Jones will in the speech viewed by Reuters at the public policy research McKell Institute in Sydney.
"The dominant platforms can charge higher costs, reduce choice, and use sneaky tactics to lock consumers into using certain products. Innovation outside of the established players becomes almost impossible."
Apple, Google and Meta, which dominate app downloads and ad revenues, did not immediately respond when approached for comment on the proposed law.
The consultation process is scheduled to end on Feb. 14 and more discussions will be done to prepare the draft legislation.
The planned law, similar to the European Union's Digital Markets Act legislation, could make it easier for people to move among competing services, such as social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores.
Based on advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the government can pick platforms that pose the greatest risk of hurting competition.
"Initially, we will look to prioritise app marketplaces and ad tech services for service-specific obligations," Jones will say.
These specific obligations would restrict companies from pushing their apps with low user ratings to the top of their search list and prevent providing favourable treatment to their own services, compared with third parties.
A competition commission report on digital platform services in 2022 showed Google controlled 93% to 95% of online search services in Australia, while Apple's App Store accounted for about 60% of app downloads and Google Play Store 40%.
Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram together supplied 79% of social media services in the country.
Zohran Mamdani made history on 4 November, 2025, when he won New York City's mayoral election, becoming the city's first Muslim mayor, first South Asi...
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has won New York City’s mayoral election, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a landmark victory that make...
The U.S. Senate has blocked a Republican-backed funding bill for the 14th time, as the government shutdown reached 35 days on Tuesday — tying the lo...
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Tuesday said that last week's Hurricane Melissa, the strongest-ever storm to hit its shores, caused damage t...
A UPS cargo jet burst into flames and crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on 4 November, killing at l...
Australia will provide households, including renters and those without solar panels, with at least three hours of free solar power daily under a new government scheme starting in 2026.
Australia police said on Tuesday two people were killed in an explosion at an underground mine in the far west region of the state of New South Wales.
China on Monday sought to keep ties with Australia on an even keel despite tensions over military encounters in the South China Sea this year and broader rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 21 October, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon threatens to worsen the disaster.
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn into office for her first elected term.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk has emerged as a critical point in Russia’s campaign to seize the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk, and its fate could shape the course of the conflict in the region.
Israel’s top military legal officer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last week, has been arrested over the leak of a video showing soldiers brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military prison.
Zohran Mamdani made history on 4 November, 2025, when he won New York City's mayoral election, becoming the city's first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor, and youngest mayor in over a century.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has won New York City’s mayoral election, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a landmark victory that makes him the city’s first Muslim mayor.
The U.S. Senate has blocked a Republican-backed funding bill for the 14th time, as the government shutdown reached 35 days on Tuesday — tying the longest in U.S. history.
A UPS cargo jet burst into flames and crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on 4 November, killing at least seven people and injuring 11 others.
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday during a press briefing.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment