The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has expressed concern at the dominance in Australia’s computer app market by Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
In its interim report into digital platform services, the ACCC found the two app suppliers had “significant market power” in distributing mobile apps around Australia.
“Measures are needed to address this,” the ACCC said.
Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims said apps were everywhere — “they are an essential part of our daily lives, whether we keep up with the news, stay in touch with friends, catch up on the latest series on a streaming platform, order a ride or a meal, or shop online”.
“If consumers use an Apple mobile, they can only download apps from the Apple App Store. For other consumers using a mobile running the Android OS, the main place they download apps from is the Google Play Store,” Mr Sims said.
“Apple and Google’s stores are the gateways between consumers and app developers, and it’s true that they provide considerable benefits to both groups, but there are significant issues with how this market is operating.”
He said Apple and Google don’t only run the app marketplaces, they also compete within them with their own apps.
“They have the ability and incentive to promote their own apps over others, and they control the terms that their competitors must comply with to gain access to their stores,” Mr Sims said.
“To address this market power, we believe app developers should have more information about how their apps are made discoverable to consumers and that consumers should have the ability to change or remove any pre-installed or default apps.”
He said the ACCC was also concerned with restrictions imposed by Apple and Google which meant developers had no choice but to use Apple and Google’s own payment systems for any in-app purchases.
“Further, while Apple and Google have made efforts to remove malicious apps from the app stores, we believe they could do more to prevent and remove apps that feature, for example, subscription traps and other scams,” Mr Sims said.
“There is a clear need for better redress and dispute resolution for consumers who are harmed by these sorts of apps, or who have disputes over payments and other issues.”
He said the situation reinforced the need for an external dispute resolution body for digital platforms, including Apple and Google, as previously recommended by the ACCC.
