A New Regulatory Regime to Address Digital Harm
Nicholas Felstead and Cordelia Egerton-Warburton
Australian Business Law Review
Nicholas Felstead and Cordelia Egerton-Warburton, ‘A New Regulatory Regime to Address Digital Harm: I. Introduction’ (20230302) 50(5) Australian Business Law Review 374
Abstract
It is without question that services provided by digital platforms have an important and entrenched role in the modern economy. Digital platform markets are fast-moving and dynamic, which creates real enforcement challenges for regulators. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's latest interim report in its Digital Platform Services Inquiry represents a significant step in developing fit-for-purpose digital regulation. The interim report builds on considerable community and stakeholder consultation, drawing attention to the real competition and consumer protection issues raised by digital platform services. These issues include the proliferation of dark patterns, inadequate dispute resolution mechanisms, and anti-competitive exclusionary practices. The interim report makes recommendations to strengthen Australia's competition and consumer protection laws, through economy-wide and digital platform-specific measures. In this brief article, we consider the proposals for a prohibition against unfair trading practices, and the introduction of service-specific codes of conduct.