Australian competition regulator seeks Facebook and Google algorithms

[Matrix]

 

 

 

In brief: Two of the world’s most valuable digital companies have been under the microscope once more as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission publishes its Digital Platforms Inquiry. The report scrutinizes how Google and Facebook in particular are affecting consumers’ day-to-day lives, and makes some bold recommendations.

A new truism seems to be emerging in the modern world: wherever a major tech company operates, a regulatory investigation is soon to follow. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the latest national regulator to publish a report on the impacts major companies like Facebook and Google are having on civic life.

The Digital Platforms Inquiry, published this week, sets out the ACCC’s findings on a range of issues, “from alleged anti-competitive conduct to privacy concerns, and from disparity in media regulation to copyright issues.” The probe also looks into concerns around disinformation, harmful content and the scale of user-data collection.

The matters under scrutiny are nothing new, and have been subject to numerous investigations across the world, but the ACCC may be looking to go further than others have, by requiring Facebook and Google to hand over details of how their platforms’ algorithms actually work.

The competition watchdog has proposed the creation of a new branch under its own supervision, the Digital Platforms Branch, and this new department would have the power during public inquiries to request the closely-guarded secrets of how Facebook and Google work under the hood.

The ACCC also put forward other proposals, including reforms for Australia’s Privacy Act, changes to how mergers are handled, and even teaching digital media literacy in schools. It will ultimately be up to the Australian government to decide how far these recommendations are implemented.

For their part, Facebook and Google are being coy in their responses to the report. In a statement received by Business Insider, a Facebook representative said the company was “fully committed to engaging” with the report, and separately Google, too, has said it would “engage with the government on the recommendations.”

 

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[Infinite_Vision]

I think this is a good start.  We need to examine how these algorithms are setup and ulitize.  What are the metric are being use?  Who or what is overseeing these metrics and algorithms?  What kind of disposition or agenda are in them if any?  Or are the moderators and how are these decisions being made?  Why are rules and guidelines not clearly articulated?  When the CEO of Google came out and stated that he was not going to let the same thing in the last election happened, it leaves a negative impression.  Just the other days, I just saw a couple of YouTubers come out and say that all of their videos were demonetize after all of them were deem fine even after manual review.  It is clear biased and a way Google tries to silence those that they don't agree with.  Kind of blackmail type of stuff.  Luckily, I'm not a YouTuber myself because if you are, you are subject to the way Google and Youtube run their business.  If they don't like the way you cover stuff or are very critical about certain topics that you don't like, they demonetize.  Thus, I see a lot of YouTubers Kowtowing to their master just for the sake of money.  But if you breath money 24/7, you will become a slave to it and those in power knows that so they take advantage of that.  We also need to know what kind of data do they collect after the last fiasco from FB.   

 

Another tidbit that I want to point is that a lot of these guys go to a site like grapevinelogic to beg for money from sponsorship.  These various companies will pick anyone that they want and state the stipulation that a particular content creator have to do to get the money for a particulr shout out or product placement.  Check it out if you guys/gals don't believe me.