Digital consumers

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The ACCC has highlighted a range of harms to consumers and small businesses occurring across social media services, including excessive data collection practices, lack of effective dispute resolution options, prevalence of scams, lack of transparency for advertisers and inadequate disclosure of sponsored content by influencers and brands.

Read More ACCC Social Media Report Finds Consumers and Small Businesses Require More Protections

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has just released its 2022 Targeting Scams report in which it found an 80% increase in total losses compared to 2021. Using data from regulators and government agencies, the report highlights the need for further collaboration between government bodies, banks, regulators, telcos, and digital platforms to close “significant…

Read More ACCC Calls for United Front as Scammers Steal Over $3bn from Australians

COTA

The trend towards digital and cashless banking is already negatively impacting many vulnerable Australians as COTA (Council on the Ageing) highlighted in their recent media release, as seen below: The closure of cash services at bank branches risks cutting off access to vital and basic banking services for many older Australians, particularly our most vulnerable,…

Read More COTA: Don’t lock vulnerable Australians out of banking

From the Consumer Policy Research Centre, originally released here on 29/03/2023. The latest research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), has found that most Australians don’t feel businesses are doing enough to keep their data safe. While 84 per cent agree a company should be responsible for keeping their data safe, only 15 per…

Read More 6 Out of 7 Australians Don’t Feel Their Data is Safe with Businesses

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman logo

Following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Digital Platform Services inquiry in 2019, and the Treasury’s recent follow-up consultation the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) placed a submission late February 2023 to expand their remit from telecommunications to digital platform services (e.g. search engines, apps). The TIO has supported the proposal for a Digital Platforms…

Read More TIO Submission for Digital Platforms Ombudsman

ACCC logo ACCC logo

The ACCC has recommended a range of new measures to address harms from digital platforms to Australian consumers, small businesses and competition. The fifth report of the ACCC’s five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry has proposed that platforms be subject to mandatory dispute resolution processes and stronger requirements for combating scams, harmful apps and fake reviews,…

Read More ACCC calls for new competition and consumer laws for digital platforms

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ASIC has released Report 735 Retail investor research (REP 735) capturing retail investor motivations, attitudes and behaviours in the period following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a media release from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). It was originally published on 11th August, 2022. The research surveyed 1,053 Australian retail investors aged 18 and over who…

Read More ASIC releases research about investment behaviour

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New research by Dr Zofia Bednarz has found insurers, using new AI and other models, may be able to collect your online data, and apart from anti-discrimination laws, there are no effective constraints on them using that data to price contracts. This is a media release from The University of Sydney: News & opinion. It was originally published…

Read More Is your insurance company watching you online and is it legal?

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Consumer Action is calling for meaningful protections from scams to apply to businesses operating in the crypto sector. This is a media release from Consumer Action Law Centre. It was originally published on 30th May, 2022.  The call comes in a submission to the Treasury’s consultation paper Crypto asset secondary service providers: Licensing and custody requirements, in which Treasury proposes…

Read More Crypto: As risky as gambling and a haven for scams that demands action