Competition & Consumer Protection

The ACCC has accepted undertakings from Telstra and Optus not to renew agreements requiring them to pre-install Google apps on Android devices as part of its competition probe into Google.

In a landmark competition case, Apple has told the Federal Court that Epic Games and other developers should not be allowed to “freeride” on the resources and user base the tech giant has “spent many billions” to develop. 

Defunct microloan company Ferratum has been hit with $16 million in penalties for overcharging low-income consumers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a judge noting the company’s conduct affected a large number of vulnerable customers.

ANZ is set to acquire Queensland bank Suncorp, with treasurer Jim Chalmers signing off on the deal after the ACCC failed to block the $4.9 billion merger on competition grounds.

Sydney-based plastic surgeon Daniel Lanzer and several of his associates have objected to a class action’s eighth attempt at getting its claims over allegedly negligent cosmetic procedures right, saying the plaintiffs were engaged in a “continuing cycle of propagating versions” of their case.

Five years after it was first hit with a competition case by Dialogue Consulting, Meta has filed a cross-claim against the Melbourne social media company, alleging it collects and stores Instagram user login credentials and instructs clients to provide inaccurate information to the platform.

Epic Games has taken aim at Google for the “untruthful evidence” of its witnesses in the game maker’s competition case against the tech giant, as well as its failure to call senior executives to the stand to defend itself. 

Video game maker Epic Games has attacked as “entirely contrived” the defence by Apple in closing submissions in a Federal Court trial of its landmark competition case, pointing to the tech giant’s lack of evidence, including from CEO Tim Cook.

Convenience store chain On The Run has filed proceedings against public relations firm the Civic Partnership, claiming it is liable for misleading or deceptive conduct after an employee allegedly created a campaign aimed to damage the business for an unknown client. 

The federal government has backed suggestions for changes to the Food and Grocery Code that would slap major grocery stores with fines of up to $10 million for violating the code, amid concerns over rising food prices.