The ACCC will be examining the expanding ecosystems of digital giants in Australia as part of its five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry.
“Australian consumers and businesses are increasingly reliant on the products and services offered by digital platforms so it’s crucial we examine how these companies are expanding their reach,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
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The Digital Platform Services Inquiry will focus on digital platforms service providers like Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft and their investments across different sectors and technologies that create a web of interconnected products and services.
“Large digital platforms have become an integral part of our daily lives, they have access to enormous user databases and personal information across their ecosystems,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
“This report will assess how that data can be leveraged across products and services within an ecosystem that may prevent businesses from entering and competing.”
The recently released issues paper seeks submissions from consumers, businesses and interested stakeholders about the investment decisions made by digital platforms.
It also seeks submissions regarding the interconnectedness of expanded products and services within each ecosystem and the potential impacts on competition and consumers.
The interim report sets out to examine the products and services offered by digital platform service providers across a variety of sectors.
It will use examples like the expansion into consumer cloud storage and smart home devices to analyse the relationships between digital platform services and various services offered in their digital platform ecosystems.
“We’re eager to hear from consumers and businesses about their experiences with digital platform services within these ecosystems, and how they also use other related consumer cloud storage services and smart home devices within a digital platform ecosystem,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
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The expansion strategies used by digital platform service providers will be checked by the ACCC, as well as how this affected the interoperability of products and services across ecosystems.
Excessive collection and potentially problematic use of personal data or other behaviours such as dark patterns to confuse or manipulate consumers will also be considered.
“Interconnected products, like smart home devices and cloud storage solutions, can provide consumers with a seamless experience that simplifies everyday tasks,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
“But it’s important that competition and consumers are not harmed as digital platforms invest across different sectors and technologies and expand their reach.”