Subscription traps

Most Australians have had a negative experience when trying to cancel a subscription and consumers need protections against these shady business tactics.

How they rip you off online

Online shopping for products and services is convenient but all too often consumers are manipulated into spending more than they want and get less than they wanted.

Tough new rules promised for tech privacy

A proposed online privacy code would give consumers more control over how tech companies collect and use their data.

One simple rule to protect consumer privacy

No major online marketplace in Australia respects the privacy of consumers. Letting customers opt out of data tracking would be a good start.

American law makers take a swing at “big tech”

Five antitrust laws proposed in the United States aim to aggressively rein in the market power of “big tech” companies and change the way they do business.

Scroogled

The current review of the Federal Privacy Act could be the beginning of a process to obtain fairer privacy practices for consumers, but any reforms from this review will be a long time coming.

The USA v Google

The US Department of Justice claims Google is illegally monopolising the markets for online search and search advertising in the biggest monopoly case since the 1998 lawsuit against Microsoft, but the legal action may take several years to reach any conclusion.

The Digital Platforms Inquiry gets a lukewarm government response

The ACCC’s inquiry was launched to address concerns about the market power of major digital platforms, such as Google and Facebook, and their impact on Australia’s businesses and media.

Taking back our online privacy

An entire industry exists to profile your life from your online data – everything from your shopping habits to your political views and medical conditions – and the results can cause genuine harm.

The ACCC wants to curb digital platform power – but enforcement will be tricky

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says we need new laws to monitor and curb the power wielded by Google, Facebook and other powerful digital platforms.