ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns that Transurban’s plan to acquire a majority stake in fellow toll road operator Horizon Roads will hinder competition for future toll road projects.

Facebook has agreed to pay a $20 million penalty for misleading consumers by representing that its discontinued Onavo Protect mobile app would keep users’ personal activity data private, when in fact it was being collected for commercial use.

Armaguard and rival Prosegur have secured authorisation for their proposed merger from the ACCC, which has found the likely reduction in competition in the cash transport industry was outweighed by the public benefits of the transaction.

ANZ has rubbished arguments from a competitor and the ACCC that its merger with Suncorp’s banking arm will reduce competition and hurt consumers, saying the watchdog had been asked to believe a “distorted and selective view” of the proposal.

Dell Australia has apologised to consumers and admitted misleading those who purchased add-on computer monitors by inflating the pre-discount price, sometimes to more than the product’s normal retail value.

Online home improvement platform Hipages has admitted that it likely engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by failing to disclose contract terms that allowed it to automatically renew subscriptions and charge early termination fees.

The ACCC has brought proceedings against a national flower retailer for allegedly adapting its websites and google ads to deceive online customers into believing they were a local florist. 

Telstra and TPG have asked the Competition Tribunal to undo the ACCC’s rejection of their proposed regional network sharing agreement, but fellow telco Optus has warned the deal would kneecap its ability to compete.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has put the brakes on a cooperation agreement between Virgin Australia and Alliance Airlines for fly-in fly-out customers, citing concerns about increased prices and reduced services. 

Australian supplement manufacturer and retailer Universal Pharmaceuticals has admitted that it likely misled customers about the origin of shark products used in a supplement sold on its
Wealthy Heath website.