With the massive expansion of global digital platforms such as google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Amazon and Apple, Australia’s foremost regulator for competition and consumer protection, ASCC, has expressed concerns as to how the expansion of digital platforms constitutes the endangerment of users through invasive data collection as well as their infringement on consumer choice.
In response to the impending threat, ASCC has called for specific service codes and enhanced customer protection to checkmate anti-competitive programming, according to the institution’s chairperson, Gina Cass-Gottlieb. Although the institution has not put out any official statements regarding implicative findings against any of the named digital platforms, it has however identified customer choice limiting factors and innovation deterrent programs capitalized on by these large companies which seek to have total market power. Some of these practices include: product bundling, default setting and pre-installation, all of which limit customer choice. Following the release of a report on digital platform services inquiry by ASCC, several of the involved companies declined to respond. However, Amazon’s representative commented, saying that they were still deliberating on the report details.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ASCC) has pushed forward a motion for new and mandatory obligations against false reviews, scams, dangerous apps, verification processes, as well as notice and action requirements. The competition laws would also address dangers and challenges associated with Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.