Google Search must highlight ads clearly and offer space for rivals, Takealot must separate its own retail and marketplace businesses, and Uber Eats should inform consumers how much more food costs on its platform. These are some of the recommendations in the Competition Commission’s Online Platforms Market Inquiry provisional report.
Google Search — including its specialist search units such as Google Shopping and Google Travel
Furthermore, the preferential placement of Google’s own specialist search units also distorted competition in the search giant’s favour. The inquiry provisionally found there was no effective competition for the fees charged to app developers with in-app payments, resulting in high costs and app prices.
The inquiry recommended that large estate agencies divest their stake in Private Property and that there must be interoperability of listings on the leading platforms to support entrants. It also called for national restaurant chains to stop preventing their franchisees from listing on local delivery platforms.The inquiry further found there was a tendency among all platforms to sell top-ranking search positions to businesses which were not the most relevant to the consumer, constituting a form of advertising that was not transparent.
“In food delivery, it is recommended that more equitable treatment also occurs in terms of marketing commitments made in exchange for lower commission fees.”The inquiry found a conflict of interest in operating a marketplace for third-party sellers and selling your own retail products. It said there are considerably more challenges resulting from historical disadvantages, especially for funding and support.
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