ACCC launches ad tech review

The federal government has instructed the ACCC to undertake an 18-month inquiry into advertising technology as part of the response to the regulator's Digital Platforms Report.

The inquiry will focus on technologies designed to facilitate the supply of online advertising to Australian consumers by using data to deliver highly personalised advertising.

It will explore the competitiveness and efficiency of these markets, as well as the concentration of power and the impact of mergers and acquisitions.

As part of the review, the ACCC will also seek to determine whether the current corporate structure of ad tech suppliers and contractual arrangements between suppliers and customers is negatively impacting competition.

Terms of reference of the inquiry also include the availability of information on activities in the markets for stakeholders including advertisers and publishers, auction and bidding processes for the supply of these services, the behaviour of suppliers and the distribution of expenditure between publishers, ad tech providers and advertising agencies.

The ACCC has been instructed to provide the Treasurer with an interim report by the end of the year and a final report by 31 August next year.

As part of the government’s response to the ACCC’s report into its initial two-year inquiry into digital platforms, the government has agreed to allow the regulator to continue to inquire into these platforms until March 2025.

The review will also cover areas including internet search engine services, social media services, online private messaging services, digital content aggregation platform services, media referral services and electronic marketplace services.

The ACCC will meanwhile look into the data practices of both digital platform service providers and data brokers.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Piman Khrutmuang