Australian Senators want digital giants ‘reined in’ beyond Media Bargaining Code

Senators have this week raised concerns with News Media Bargaining Code -adjacent issues, reigniting debate over monopoly practices employed by digital giants and the amount of tax they pay down under. But on Monday night, senators put forward amendments under the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2021 that try to rein in how data is collected and used by platforms operating in Australia. Australian Greens Senator Nick McKim said Australians should have more control over how companies collect data about them online, who has access to that data, and how, and for what purposes, that data is used. The amendment [PDF] raises concerns over privacy, and says the use of personal data for commercial gain can no longer be ignored by the government. It asks the government implement, as a matter of priority, protections equivalent to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Aligning Australia’s Privacy Act 1988 with parts of the GDPR has been called for by a handful of respondents to the Attorney-General’s review of the Act. Facebook, for example, suggested that making such a change would prevent the creation of a “splinternet” and the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre… Read full this story

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