ACCC

Tech companies will be held responsible for harmful disinformation and misinformation on their platforms under new laws that will be introduced in the second half of the year.

The consumer regulator has initiated court proceedings alleging Facebook technology allowed scam cryptocurrency ads featuring celebrities to target susceptible users and that the social media giant failed to take adequate steps to remove them. 

The ACCC will target businesses seeking to use COVID-related disruptions to global and domestic supply chains as “a veil for illegal conduct” the watchdog’s outgoing chair has said in setting out the regulator’s priorities for 2022.

The ACCC got what it wanted when IVF providers Virtus Health and Healius terminated a proposed $45 million merger, but it wasn’t a win, a judge has said in mostly denying the regulator’s bid to recover the costs of its court challenge to the deal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is considering whether new laws are needed to rein in Google, Apple and Facebook, including rules to curb self-preferencing conduct and strengthen the merger review framework.

An appeals court grilled counsel for the ACCC on the first day of a hearing challenging the dismissal of its case over a NSW government deal to privatise two ports, calling on the lawyer to spell out how the state was alleged to be in competition with the consortium that took over the ports.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concerns about a proposed takeover of NSW-based pet drug maker Jurox by US animal health giant Zoetis.

In a victory for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a judge has found that builder J Hutchinson entered into an anti-competitive agreement with the CFMEU to boycott an independent subcontractor at a construction site in Brisbane.

The CDPP’s decision to drop all criminal cartel charges against two banks and four individuals in a “test case” over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement shows the ACCC “lacks expertise and objectivity” on the financial markets and should leave them to ASIC to regulate, according to one of the former accused.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating claims by suppliers that government bodies have diverted supplies of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, as the regulator continues its crackdown on reported price gouging amid a test shortage.