The Framework

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) concluded its five-year inquiry into digital platform services in March 2025, recommending mandatory, service-specific codes of conduct for “designated” digital platforms, drawing inspiration from the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).[1] These codes mandate interoperability requirements, prohibit self-preferencing, and restrict exclusive pre-installation agreements. Additionally, the ACCC recommends strengthening consumer protection laws, including an economy-wide prohibition on unfair trading practices.

Implications for U.S. Technology Companies

The regulations specifically target large U.S. technology companies through size-based thresholds that designate platforms for mandatory compliance. Google, Apple, and Meta face mandated interoperability, which forces them to open their proprietary systems, while prohibitions on self-preferencing undermine their integrated service models. These requirements divert engineering resources from AI development and innovation toward compliance infrastructure, weakening their competitive position against firms from jurisdictions without similar constraints.

The Australian approach creates additional regulatory fragmentation as U.S. companies must now manage divergent compliance regimes across the EU, UK, Japan, and Australia. Each jurisdiction's unique interoperability standards and codes of conduct multiply operational complexity and costs. This patchwork of regulations systematically disadvantages U.S. technology leaders who operate at global scale, while competitors from countries without equivalent rules can maintain integrated platforms and direct resources toward innovation rather than compliance.[2]

Endnotes