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This week
IN THE NEWS: ACCAN Submission to ACCC Digital Platforms Services Inquiry, CDR Rules and Standards Design Paper, major Optus network outage fixed, and more.
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ACCAN recently submitted feedback to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding its Discussion Paper for Interim Report No. 5: Updating competition and consumer law for digital platform services. The discussion paper will inform the ACCC’s fifth interim report for the Digital Platform Services Inquiry. ACCAN’s submission acknowledged the need for regulatory reform to ensure that Australian consumers continue to enjoy the benefits from digital platforms while reducing their harms [ACCAN].
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ACCAN recently provided feedback to the Treasury and Data Standards Body on their Consumer Data Right rules and standards design paper for the telecommunications sector. The consultation asked for informal feedback regarding the scope, eligibility, and implementation of a Consumer Data Right to the telecommunications sector. ACCAN is supportive of the introduction of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) regime across the telecommunications sector. However, ACCAN is keen to ensure that the development of the CDR in the telecommunications sector continues to be informed by the lived experiences of consumers, to make sure that this regime is as useful as possible for end users [ACCAN].
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Are you a small business owner with website-building experience? You are invited to take part in ACCAN’s Small Business’ Experience of Cybersecurity survey, which investigates cybersecurity practices of small businesses. All survey respondents will go in the draw to win a $150 VISA eGift Card. This survey will help us to determine preferred methods of content delivery for an upcoming consumer education initiative targeting Australian small businesses. This project is funded by auDA Foundation, the administrator of Australia’s top-level domain [ACCAN].
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Optus has fixed a major network outage which stopped many frustrated customers making calls on mobile phones for half the business day. The telecom giant reported the issue at 8.30am AEST, before announcing it was finally resolved just after 12.40pm [9news].
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The TIO is proud to announce from 4 April 2022, the Early Resolution contact centre will be open from 8am to 8pm AEST. The new operating hours allow better access to TIO services for those in different time zones and offers more flexibility for people and small businesses to call the organisation at a time that is convenient for them [TIO].
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Scamwatch is warning people to be aware of uninvited offers of help to recover money for an up-front payment, following a spike in reports of money recovery scams. These scams target people who have already lost money to a previous scam by promising to help victims recover their losses after paying a fee in advance. Australians have lost over $270,000 to these scams so far this year, an increase of 301 per cent [ACCC].
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Outgoing Telstra CEO Andy Penn says the carrier has added $75 million to what it will spend responding to the regional telecommunications report. The commitment comes as Telstra also promised to increase the number of staff devoted to supporting regional and remote communities [iTNews].
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The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has launched a site that can be used to check one's website, email and Internet connection to see whether the latest and most secure standards are being used. Called .auCheck, the site has been put up in collaboration with auDA, the administrator of the Australian domain namespace [iTWire].
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Federal Labor has unveiled a $650m plan to improve regional telecommunications a week after the federal budget. Announced on Tuesday, Labor’s Better Connectivity for Rural and Regional Australia plan includes support for regional infrastructure as well as improved on-farm connectivity for farmers [InnovationAus].
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The federal government is seeking to harmonise data security regulation and standards in Australia, including across all levels of government, as part of the country’s first data security action plan. The Department of Home Affairs on Wednesday released a discussion paper calling for views on the development of the new “whole-of-economy” action plan [iTNews].
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Tel: (02) 9288 4000
Email: media@accan.org.au
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
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