Why The Federal Court Should Throw The Book At Google Over Location Data Tracking
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Published 3 hours ago:
April 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a significant win against Google. The Federal Court found Google misled some Android users about how to disable personal location tracking.
Will this decision actually change the behaviour of the big tech companies? The answer will depend on the size of the penalty awarded in response to the misconduct.
But what’s prompting these nuclear options?
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Facebook’s news ban has shown the immense power of the “digital giants”. Picture: Getty Images
On the surface, it appears to be all about news content. But make no mistake, underlying these disputes is a battle about advertising revenue, the collection and use of consumer data and more broadly the ‘attention economy’ on which these platforms’ business model is based.
Last year, a Digital Platforms Inquiry conducted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) signalled the beginnings of a regulatory implosion on tech giants and their immense market power.