Australia is poised to become the first country in the world to get an independent referee for social media disputes, and the woman tipped to take the role says action is urgently needed to protect Aussie consumers and small businesses from growing “harm”.
The Digital Platforms Ombudsman, one of 23 recommendations proposed after an inquiry by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, could fight problems on tech giants’ platforms including scams, identity theft, fake reviews, censorship, and advertising dramas with the potential to cripple small businesses.
But industry experts warned taking international tech giants to task in Australia could be difficult, and an ombudsman would need enforcement powers to avoid becoming a “paper tiger”.
In its report, the ACCC recommended Australia’s Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman take on the task of refereeing complaints and disputes with digital platforms from both consumers and small businesses.
And Ombudsman Judi Jones told News Corp her initial investigation had uncovered clear evidence many Australians were not getting justice on serious issues encountered on platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
“In my view, there’s nowhere for consumers to go,” Ms Jones said.
“At the moment, there is no external dispute resolution service apart from the courts that you can go to and say, ‘I’ve tried to resolve this with a digital platform’. Having an independent third party to go to when you can’t resolve an issue would be helpful.”
Issues identified by the TIO included consumers being impersonated, scammed, and hacked on social networks, and small businesses struggling to have negative comments and reviews removed from digital platforms, being locked out of their accounts, and receiving “misleading” advertising services.
Ms Jones said digital platforms ombudsman could not only serve to judge the compla ..
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