Australian Regulators Call For New Competition Law For Digital Platforms

Illustration of big tech company Google (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Australia's scrutiny of business competition (ACCC) calls for new regulations as five tech giants, Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft continue their expansion of developing technologies such as the Generative AI.

According to ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, the expansion of this sustainable digital platform can increase dangerous risks, such as invasive data collection practices and consumer lockdown practices.

Our latest Digital Platform Services Inquiry report looked at the interconnected products and services offered by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft and found their expanding reach may be increasing the risks of harm to competition and consumers. https://t.co/upUjnt3497 pic.twitter.com/VjlIJaMg0W

— ACCC (@acccgovau) November 27, 2023

Our latest Digital Platform Services Inquiry report looked at the interconnected products and services offered by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft and found their expanding reach may be increasing the risks of harm to competition and consumers. https://t.co/upUjnt3497 pic.twitter.com/VjlIJaMg0W

"When the digital economy develops and the digital platform ecosystem continues to grow, we must be equipped with the right regulatory tools to ensure effective competition in these markets," Cass-Gottlieb said in a statement on Monday, November 27.

ACCC found that as service providers of digital platforms develop, they have greater access to consumer data, which they can collect and use throughout their product and service ecosystems.

"For example, Amazon, Apple and Google are collecting a large amount of consumer data through smart home devices," said Cass-Gottlieb.

The reforms we propose include calls for targeted consumer protection and service-only codes to prevent anti-competitive behavior by certain digital platforms, he continued.

Even so, the ACCC admits that it has not made specific findings regarding anti-competitive behavior. But according to him, digital platforms with significant market power can use practices such as product bundling, and pre-installation and default settings to limit customer choices or hinder innovation from competitors.