TikTok has changed social media, diminishing Meta market power – ACCC, flagging social focus in upcoming report

News 16 Aug 2022 - 4 min read

TikTok has changed social media, diminishing Meta market power – ACCC, flagging social focus in upcoming report

By Sam Buckingham-Jones - Deputy Editor

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has spent the past few years looking at Digital Platform Services.

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Tags: ACCC digital platforms inquiry

The ACCC will focus on social platforms in its sixth Digital Platforms Services report, due out early next year. Since starting the inquiry in 2019, Facebook – now Meta – has lost some of its market power, with new entrants like TikTok gaining. The regulator will look at competition, trends in social media mergers and acquisitions, advertising services on social, and social scams.

What you need to know:

The ACCC will examine social media platforms in its upcoming Digital Platform Services report, due out in March or April next year.
The regulator is looking for submissions over the next month about the competition, advertising services, trends, and use and abuse of social platforms for scams.

Social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat will be the focus of the sixth Digital Platform Services report compiled by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), with the regulator asking the industry for submissions.

The ACCC has posed 31 questions in its issues paper, noting that since its first report in 2019 – when Meta “had substantial market power” – there had been new entrants and changes to the competitive landscape.

The regulator said it is looking to understand the potential competition and consumer protection issues that matter most to consumers, businesses and advertisers, including:

The degree of competition between social media services.
Trends in mergers and acquisitions by social media platforms.
The role of advertising services, including display and influencer advertising.
The use and abuse of social media services for scams and misleading or deceptive conduct.

“We want to hear from businesses and consumers about their experiences with social media services, including with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said. “We hope to examine trends in user preferences and engagement over time, and consider how users choose social media services.”

The ACCC noted social platforms have expanded to gaming, stories, video and e-commerce in recent years, after initially focusing on social contacts, posts and chat.

The paper will be handed to the Federal Treasurer by 31 March 2023.

In late September, the fifth report is set to be released, taking a close look at the competition and consumer issues identified so far in the digital platform services investigation.

Snapshot of the socials:

Meta

Australian users: 17.5m on Facebook, 13.8m on Instagram

Global revenue: US$115bn (2021)

Australian advertising revenue: $1.1bn (2021)

Snapchat

Australian users: 7.25m

Global advertising revenue: $4.1bn (2021)

Twitter

Australian users: 3.7m

Global revenue: US$5.08bn (2021)

Australian advertising revenue: $14.8m (2021)

TikTok

Australian users: 32 per cent of Australian adult internet users.

Global revenue: $4bn (2021)