Australia’s government accepted key recommendations by the nation’s consumer watchdog regarding implementing reforms to boost transparancy and protections around the privacy and use of people’s data.

The government tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with overseeing the development of a new code which will address the power imbalance between platforms and media companies, and to probe the digital advertising tech supply chain, with a focus on digital display ads.

In 2018, the ACCC proposed a new regulatory body be given the authority to monitor Google and Facebook’s digital platforms to determine the impact their dominance has on the online search and advertising markets.

Responding to the government’s decision, ACCC chair Rod Sims said Australia will be one of the first countries in the world to develop a comprehensive roadmap for broad reforms relating to digital platforms, noting Google and Facebook have grown to have “almost unfettered market power” with significant impacts on consumers that must be addressed.

The agency said it will continue its work in digital platform markets through the establishment of a permanent Digital Platforms Branch, which will enable consistent scrutiny of the platforms.

Also afoot are steps to ensure consumers are adequately informed about how their data is collected and to provide them with greater control over how it is used.