Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australia's law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

The Parliament on Feb. 25 passed the final amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Feb. 23.

An Australian regulator is considering letting internet users choose what personal data companies like Google share with advertisers, as part of the country's attempts to shatter the dominance of tech titans.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also proposed limiting the internet giants' ability to access users' online histories to cross-sell products.

Australia's competition regulator said on Monday it would investigate whether U.S. online giants Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google has disrupted the news media market to the detriment of publishers and consumers, reported Reuters. 

An Australian court dealt on Sept. 20 a blow to a planned Aus$8.6 billion ($6.9 billion) merger of gambling giants Tabcorp and Tatts, ordering a review of the deal following competition concerns.