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Australia launches probe into Facebook, Google

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opened a probe into digital search engines, social media platforms and digital content aggregators to study their effect on competition in media and advertising services.

The probe will affect companies such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc., and involve a closer look at how digital platforms impact the choice and quality of news produced by Australian journalists, the ACCC said Dec. 4.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said the regulator will conduct the probe "with an open mind" and will "look closely at longer-term trends and the effect of technological change on competition in media and advertising."

Sims said the aim of the probe is to "examine whether platforms are exercising market power in commercial dealings to the detriment of consumers, media content creators and advertisers" as most advertisers are spending less on print newspapers and finding alternative ways of reaching target audiences, including through digital media.

The ACCC will talk to content creators, mainstream media outlets, smaller media operators, platform providers, advertisers, journalists, consumers and small-business interest groups. A preliminary report is expected by early December 2018, leading to a final report by early June 2019.