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News Corp. Rupert Murdoch called for the separation of Google in Australia, the latest salvo in the battle between the media giants.
In a petition addressed to Australian regulators, News Corp's local affiliate complained that "Google enjoys overwhelming market power in online search services and ad tech services."
Going further, the company has accused Google of "abusing its dominant position to the detriment of consumers, advertisers and publishers".
Earlier this week, the US presidential hopeful and former federal consumer watchdog, Elizabeth Warren, was the latest in commentators to claim that companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook hold "too much" to be able "in society.
News Corp. echoed its argument that Google companies should be split or, failing that, search and advertising companies should be protected from each other by a firewall.
"While News Corp Australia recognizes that divestment is a very serious step … disinvestment is necessary in the case of Google, because of the unprecedented power it currently exerts on press publishers and advertisers. "
Australian watchdogs are unlikely to recommend the splitting of Google, but the petition represents an intensification of the global fight between Murdoch, of Australian descent, and Google and Facebook.
News agencies blame tech giants for huge business benefits by creating expensive content while paying nothing and advertising.
The Australian Commission for Competition and Consumer Affairs is one of many regulators around the world investigating the impact of digital platforms on competition in the media, advertising and advertising markets .
Australian news agencies have struggled in recent years with declining revenues and staffing, while giants like Google and Facebook dominate the digital economy.
The recession caused a series of mergers that left the market with only three or four major media companies.
Local newspapers, once the cornerstone of communities in this vast country, have skeletal personnel or have been forced to close.
Of these, Murdoch's News Corp is a dominant player. It has a multitude of newspapers, television channels and the only major cable television network in the country.
Murdoch's vast political influence has often been under the fire of former prime ministers on both sides of Australian politics and is widely regarded as pushing the tone of public debate on the right.
News Corp Australia is a subsidiary of News Corp., owner of 21st Century Fox, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and a group of newspapers and television channels in Britain.
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An Australian watchdog recommends strict rules to limit the power of Google and Facebook
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