Australia: Published ACCC report including recommendations for regulatory reform on digital platforms (fifth digital platform services inquiry report)

On 11 November 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released the fifth interim report for the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, focusing on regulatory reform. Among recommendations on new measures to address consumer protection challenges and fair competition for SME, the report also recommended a new regulatory regime to address the anti-competitive behaviour of large digital platforms. In particular, the ACCC outlined several proposals to address the competition and consumer issues identified during the inquiry on digital platforms. In particular, the report recommends adopting regulations prohibiting unfair trading practices and contract terms, mandating platforms to implement internal and external dispute resolution mechanisms and establishing flagging systems to prevent and remove scams, harmful apps, and fake reviews. Furthermore, the ACCC proposed designating digital platforms that should follow mandatory codes and prohibiting digital platforms from self-preference their products.