MELBOURNE, Aug 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Acquisitive technology titans may be facing tougher terrain in Australia. As part of a sweeping proposal unveiled on Friday to rewrite the country’s merger review process, the competition authority’s chairman, Rod Sims, specifically called out the dominance of Google, Apple (AAPL.O), Facebook (FB.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O). He noted in a speech that the combined 500 businesses they bought between 2010 and 2020 helped entrench their market power. In hindsight, Sims said, some of those deals “should not have been allowed to proceed”. Along with a “tailored test” for digital deals, under the suggested changes all acquisitions of a yet-unspecified size would have to go through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instead of the informal consultation that enables companies to bypass the agency and seek court approval. The onus also would shift to buyers to prove that a transaction wouldn’t hurt competition and allow the ACCC to assess its “likely effect” on the market. There will be a lengthy debate first, but the ideas are a big deal. (By Jeffrey Goldfarb) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: Xpeng buckles up as top line races ahead read more Pennies matter to dollar stores read more Delivery Hero’s stock-picking boss read more Shiseido finds less can be more in makeup read more Delta Air Lines wields Covid vaccine stick read more