Australia’s ACCC Report: A Wake-Up Call for Digital Fairness

Introduction:

In June 2025, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) published the final report from its six-year Digital Platforms Inquiry, a comprehensive investigation into how dominant platforms operate and the impact of their design choices on consumers and competition.

Spanning over 400 pages, the report highlights widespread concerns: from misleading subscription flows to manipulated reviews, AI-driven data practices, and exploitative gaming mechanics. These are not isolated problems, they are systemic issues built into the way digital platforms are designed.

The ACCC outlines clear regulatory reforms to prevent them, including stronger enforcement tools, mandatory conduct rules, and coordination across multiple regulatory bodies.

This is more than just an Australian issue. The report reflects growing international momentum,  from the EU's Digital Markets Act to U.S. and UK enforcement actions, all pointing in the same direction: digital platforms must be accountable for design choices that harm users.

For product, legal, and design teams, this is a clear call to reassess how digital experiences are built, and to ensure those experiences are not only compliant, but fair and transparent by design.

Protecting Consumers from Unfair Design:

The ACCC’s final report makes it clear: manipulative design isn’t a rare issue, it’s built into how many digital platforms work. These patterns create friction at key moments, push users toward unintended actions, and reduce meaningful choice. The impact is broad, easy to spot, and continues across industries.

According to research by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), as cited in the ACCC’s final report:

• 75% faced barriers when trying to cancel subscriptions.
• 1 in 10 gave up on cancelling entirely, leading to continued charges they didn’t want or expect.
• 83% said these patterns had a negative effect on their ability to make informed decisions.

• 72% experienced at least one manipulative design pattern, such as hidden charges, obscured terms, or misleading prompts. (according to the ACCC’s survey)

These aren’t isolated incidents, they’re common across the digital landscape.

Design Issues by Sector and Who’s Behind It:

The ACCC’s report highlights how they appear across the digital ecosystem. In e-commerce, 71% of consumers reported experiencing at least one manipulative design such as pre-selected options or complex checkout flows, that led them into recurring subscriptions or charges. In mobile apps, 76% faced difficulties managing consent, often encountering dense privacy settings or misleading opt-out processes.

Gaming platforms came under scrutiny for their use of in-app purchases and reward loops that especially affect minors, with 39% of parents saying their children had made unintended purchases. On social and messaging platforms, default tracking settings and opaque controls made it difficult for users to understand or limit data sharing.

The report also names the platforms driving these issues. Google was flagged for self-preferencing in adtech and limiting app competition. Meta for blending user data across services. Amazon for default subscription settings and Hard-to-use cancellation flows, Apple for restricting alternatives in its App Store.

TikTok for vague tracking defaults. X (formerly Twitter) for unclear consent and targeted ads. These aren’t just poor UX decisions, they’re design strategies that reinforce platform dominance and limit user agency.

What the ACCC Recommends:

The ACCC doesn’t stop at identifying the harm, it lays out a clear roadmap for fixing it. The report calls for mandatory codes of conduct for dominant platforms, transparency around algorithms and data practices, and stronger penalties for violations.

These rules would be enforced through closer coordination between competition, consumer, and privacy regulators. What makes this different is accountability: companies could face fines of up to $50 million or 30% of revenue if they ignore the rules. It’s a shift from reactive enforcement to proactive oversight, and a clear signal that design choices must align with user rights.

Why It Matters for Product, Design, and Business Teams:

The ACCC’s report doesn’t just target individual design choices, it challenges how digital platforms operate at scale. For product and design teams, this marks a turning point. Every friction-filled flow, default setting, or hidden option is no longer just a UX decision,  it’s a compliance risk.

In Australia, these proposed changes will shift the digital landscape. Platforms will be held to new standards for clarity, consent, and user control. This message extends far beyond Australia, the ACCC’s position mirrors a growing international trend,  from the EU’s Digital Markets Act to enforcement actions by the FTC and CMA.

Businesses everywhere should take note: the era of manipulative design is ending. The future belongs to platforms that prioritize transparency, fairness, and user trust, by design.

ACCC Future Plans:

In December, officials committed to launching a new regulatory framework in 2025, one designed to address the power and design tactics of major digital platforms.

Stronger rules, better enforcement, and clear accountability are on the table. The next steps will determine whether Australia leads the way on fair digital design or misses the moment.

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