Australia: Published March 2022 interim report of digital platform services inquiry revolving around general online retail marketplaces
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Published March 2022 interim report of digital platform services inquiry revolving around general online retail marketplaces
On 28 April 2022, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued its fourth interim report of the digital platform services inquiry, which focuses on potential competition and consumer issues related to general online retail marketplaces. The report highlights a number of consumer issues in this context, such as the importance of display in shaping consumer choice, and the growing role of marketplaces mediating third parties in dispute resolution. Further, the role of marketplaces in collecting and processing consumer data and the ability of sellers to access such data is discussed. In relation to competition, the report highlights the ability to give potential preference to a marketplace's own products, or the existence of a self-reinforcing effect in consumer data collection by which, the more data a company is able to collect, the more it is able to adjust itself to consumer preference. According to the report, the next interim report will make recommendations on whether legal reform is needed.
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