Transparency & Oversight
We have the right to know who is paying to influence our views and how they do it. And our regulators should conduct public safety audits on technologies with the power to impact public health and democratic integrity.
Solutions
We must reset the rules to stop Big Tech companies profiting from public harm.
Every other industry in Australia – banking, healthcare, telecommunications, mining, education, media and journalism – must follow rules that protect the public interest. The Big Tech companies which now have a huge impact on so much of our daily lives should be no different. Yes, businesses should pursue commercial success. But they should do well by doing good.
We believe the internet can once again become a force for good, not a marketplace for manipulation by the highest bidder.
Our policy foundations
Effective self-government requires most of the people, most of the time to rely on the same set of facts. And we need public conversations in the media that are inclusive and reflect diverse views in proportion to their presence in society. These fundamental principles are today in jeopardy.
Data Rights
The manipulation of the digital public sphere starts with surveillance of everything we do online and the exploitation of that data to predict and shape our preferences with targeted media. We have the right to protect democratic society by increasing our control over how data is collected and used in media markets.
Balance of Power
The concentration of control over media markets has always threatened democracy. We need public policy that restricts the power of Big Tech’s monopolies, enables a robust marketplace of ideas, and protects the most vulnerable among us.