3 December, 2019
Across the globe, governments, regulators and policy makers are exploring how to adapt existing laws and regulation to the digital world in which technology and data increasingly underpin business models and influence virtually every aspect of society.
While the competition regulators are often the most active in driving the debate on "digital" regulation, proposals span a wide range of legal disciplines and include, for example, broadening responsibility for policing online content, establishing bespoke digital regulators, requiring incumbents to open up their data sets to competitors, increasing transparency and fairness in platforms' interactions with end users, reconsidering merger thresholds for digital acquisitions, overhauling data privacy laws to give consumers more control over their data and introducing digital services taxes.
In terms of geography, many proposals for "digital" regulation stem from Europe and the US. However, there is also movement in Asia Pacific, including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which is very active in this field and has looked deeply into these issues with its recent Digital Platforms Inquiry Review.
As we await the Australian Government's response to the Final Report's 23 recommendations for wide-ranging regulatory change in areas including competition and consumer law, privacy, copyright and media regulation, Baker McKenzie presents a video and podcasts in which our experts discuss the recommendations, the likelihood of regulatory change and potential consequences.
Given that governments and regulators around the world are grappling with the same issues and increasingly look to each other across borders to make their regulatory frameworks fit for the global digital age, the Australian report is a critical development from a global perspective and our experts' analysis of key aspects of the report will help business across the world anticipate what is coming in terms of regulatory changes.
Access our experts' analyses of the Australian developments opposite.
For further information, please contact:
Adrian J. Lawrence Partner, Baker & McKenzie
adrian.lawrence@bakermckenzie.com
