In its latest report for the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) expressed concern that the growth of these platforms has increased the risk of them engaging in harmful behavior such as invasive data collection and practices that lock in customers and limit their choices.
Australia’s competition watchdog said on Monday that new competition laws were needed in response to the country’s rapid growth of digital platforms such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
In its latest report for the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) expressed concern that the growth of these platforms has increased the risk of them engaging in harmful behavior such as invasive data collection and practices that lock in customers and limit their choices.
“Our proposed reforms include a call for targeted consumer protections and service-specific codes to prevent anti-competitive conduct by particular designated digital platforms,” the chairman of the ACCC said.
The ACCC has not made specific findings of anti-competitive behavior, but has stated that digital platforms with significant market power can use practices such as product bundling, pre-installation, and default settings to limit customer choice or discourage competitors from innovating.
In terms of data collection practices, the ACCC discovered that these providers have greater access to rich consumer data through expansion, and it is not always clear from the relevant privacy policies whether the data collected exceeds that required for device functionality or product improvement.
In order to combat scams, malicious apps, and phony reviews, the regulator has also suggested new mandatory requirements for all digital platforms. These requirements include notice and action requirements as well as more stringent verification of business users and reviews.
According to the ACCC, it is imperative to make sure competition laws are appropriate for addressing the possible obstacles presented by cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality and generative AI.
The ACCC announced earlier this year that it will conduct a five-year investigation into the rapidly changing digital platform service provider ecosystem in the nation.
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