Google, Facebook defend role in media amid ACCC probe - 23rd April 2018

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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the government would be open to Google, if the company decided to leave Sydney. Photo: AP

by Jennifer Duke, John McDuling

Digital behemoths Facebook and Google have defended their role in the publishing landscape as "helping" traditional media companies in a competitive online environment, as Australia's wide-reaching probe into the impacts of the digital giants continues.

Google's 13-page submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry, released on Monday, said it sends news websites "billions of visits" in traffic for "free", and helps publications monetise audiences through its technology and tools.

Providing "help" to media companies is in the search engine's best interest, the submission claims, as quality content is "complementary" to finding the best information.

Facebook's 56-page submission, with an accompanying 23-page commissioned report from Queensland University of Technology, put emphasis on the competition social media platforms face as "barriers to entry for online services are low" and says many companies can collect data, including newspapers.

Facebook's News Feed is less than 5 per cent news, Facebook claims, and is a"free platform for global content distribution and promotion".

Facebook has been engulfed by a privacy scandal over the past month after it admitted that data from millions of users (including as many as 310,000 Australians) was harvested by Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy employed by the Trump campaign in the 2016 US elections.

The crisis has triggered widespread political criticism and regulatory investigations in many countries. Australia's Privacy Commissioner is investigating the incident, as is the US Federal Trade Commission. Earlier this month, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was hauled before US Congress to answer questions from lawmakers.

The ACCC inquiry, which was set up before the privacy scandal, is the product of manouvering in federal Parliament over changes to media ownership laws. However, ACCC chairman Rod Sims has said the episode will be incorporated into the process.

In recent months, Google has been throwing support behind media companies, including a $400 million investment in products and programs for news publishers.

The search advertising giant struck a deal with Fairfax Media, publisher of this website, over advertising in late-2017. It has also been working on a subscription product with News Corp.

Google's submission claims advertisers can target audiences more effectively as "not only is online advertising more targeted, but analytics tools can provide advertisers with more insight into the effectiveness of their advertising".

Online advertising revenues increased more than 100 per cent in the four years to 2016, while the overall ad market grew by 32 per cent.

Despite this, the Australian Association of National Advertisers' (AANA) submission said more than half of all ads served in Australia were not viewable, citing the latest biannual Media Quality Report.

This could include advertising being displayed further down on the website than users scroll to, leaving it un viewed.

The AANA pushed for "recompense" should less than 70 per cent of advertising in a digital campaign not be seen.

Brand safety, due to algorithms being used as part of programmatic buying, and a lack of universal measurement of campaign performance and transparency were also listed as major concerns by the advertising lobby group.

"Google’s interests are aligned with enabling high quality content that users seek, helping businesses advertise their products and services, and with helping media content creators monetise their content" it said in the submission.

Last year, Google's YouTube video platform was at the centre of significant controversy for failing to stem hate speech and other disturbing content. It triggered a boycott from major brands including Procter & Gamble, and in an Australian context, Telstra, Bunnings and Foxtel.

"YouTube is a valuable source of news that connects users with media content creators," the submission reads.

(The Sydney Morning Herald)