ACCC to investigate the likes of Google, Amazon Alexa

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has announced plans to build on an inquiry into the information quality of internet search services in Australia.  

The inquiry forms part of the ACCC’s wider five-year inquiry, looking into markets for the supply of digital platform services.

It will cover the current state of search services competition plus influences on supply, regulatory and industry developments covering the overseas introduction of ‘choice screens’ (also known as browser ballots) and the emergence of generative AI.

The Digital Platform Services Inquiry (DPSI) first launched back in 2020 with findings handed to the Treasurer every six months and examines different angles of digital platform services and the impacts on the Australian market. 

On Monday, the ACCC put out a call to consumers, businesses and industry participants for feedback on “the level of competition in general search services and trends in search quality”.  

This latest inquiry builds on The ACCC’s DPI final report in 2019 and findings from its Search Defaults and Choice Screens report in 2021, which found that Google has substantial market power in the supply of general search services in Australia.

In the 2021 report, the ACCC noted Google was able to leverage market dominance by pre-installation and default arrangements with third-party device and operating system manufacturers. 

The latest report said, “changes to the market structure and the emergence of generative AI as a way for consumers to search for information is claimed to have impacted general search services in a significant way” [pdf]. 

“Given this, the ACCC considers that it is now timely to re-examine the provision of general search services in Australia,” the report said. 

This latest inquiry forms the ninth interim report of the DPSI and is set to be handed to the Treasurer by the end of September. 

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said, “Significant changes have occurred since the ACCC last examined search services in 2021.”

“We’ve seen new laws introduced overseas that place obligations on so-called gatekeeper search engines and the emergence of new technologies, like generative AI, that have changed the way consumers search for information online and may be impacting the quality of the service they are receiving.”

Cass-Gottlieb added the competition watchdog “wants to understand the impact of these developments on general search services and ultimately, how they affect competition and consumers.”