The ACCC has released a preliminary report into the market power being exerted by major digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. And while the commission's inquiry continues, it's clear it is looking at ways to curb the influence digital platforms have given they are privately run and have operated outside the traditional regulatory regimes.

Its focus has been on search engines, social media platforms and digital content aggregators with the spotlight brightly directed at Facebook and Google given their powerful influence.

NBN connections are becoming available in more and more places as the network rolls out, but it's not worth rushing into the switch even if you've been waiting for years. Switching over to the NBN can be complicated, so here's what you need to make sure you do before you take the leap.

The chairman of the ACCC Rod Sims has echoed common Australian sentiments, saying that petrol prices are just too high. Unfortunately even the ACCC doesn't have a clear course of action that can be taken to lower prices, though it does have some solid advice for consumers looking to avoid getting ripped off.

A German athlete made news last week when he was banned from an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant for eating almost 100 pieces of sushi. And while I don't think I'm capable of eating 100 pieces of sushi myself, I still had to wonder - can all-you-can-eat restaurants legally ban you from their restaurant for doing exactly what it says on the sign? Here's what I found out.

Telcos offering NBN connections need to up their game from today, or risk heavy fines. With the NBN rollout being plagued with problems on all sides, ACMA is seeking to protect consumers from the seemingly all-too-common experience of being left high and dry without any internet while trying to switch over to the NBN - among other problems.

The ACCC has put telcos on notice in a year where it feels like it's had to pull them up on misleading advertising every week. Its latest salvo warns companies to make sure their advertising is clear and not misleading - threatening vastly increased penalties for companies that mess up.

As any bargain hunter worth their salt will tell you, eBay 'price jacking' is a depressingly common problem. As an online marketplace, eBay does not set the prices of goods it sells - which makes it easy for third-party sellers to rip people off. This is especially prevalent during site-wide sales, with merchants regularly inflating the "RRP" to fool uninformed customers.

It's a pretty scummy practice, but thankfully one that is easily avoided. Here's what you can do about it.

Following from the ACCC's Service Standards Inquiry, NBNCo has agreed, voluntarily, to offer a $25 rebate whenever they miss an appointment. And there's no need to go through a lengthy or painful claim process as the process should be automatic.

Vodafone Australia and TPG have ended a week of speculation by confirming plans to merge into a $15 billion company. The combined company reckons it will be powerful enough to take on the twin Goliaths of Telstra and Optus - but the numbers tell a different story when it comes to broadband.

If you think companies have grown too bold with their marketing of "healthy" foods for kids, look no further than Heinz — just last Friday, it was ordered to pay a massive $2.25 million to the ACCC for "a misleading health claim" regarding its Little Kids Shredz product line.

More than 1.45 million NBN users have 50Mbps connections per a report released by the ACCC yesterday. That accounts for 35 per cent of all NBN users and is an almost tenfold increase from December 2017.

The dramatic uptake in that tier of service is credited to the NBN's 'Focus on 50' promotion that encourages retailers to move their customers to 50Mbps plans through wholesale discounts and credits.

The ACCC's second Measuring Broadband Australia is out and there's some damning news for a large slab of customers. 7.4% of customers are only receiving speeds that are half of what they're paying for. And just seven in ten NBN customers received 90% of their maximum plan speed.

One of my pet hates when I shop is that little notice next to the counter that says the use of credit cards and debit cards will incur extra fees. In many cases, the charges have been far in excess of what the stores actually pay for the transactions and the ACCC has had enough. They are now going after companies and taking them to court for adding what they deem excessive fees. Today, they've announced they're going after car rental firm Europcar after Cruisin Motorhomes was forced to pay $12,600 in fines earlier this month. If you're taking payments by credit card, or feel you're being slugged excessively, there are steps you can take.

NBN provider MyRepublic has been ordered by the ACCC to pay penalties totalling $25,200 for alleged false or misleading representations about its NBN service performance. The ACCC said MyRepublic marketed its NBN services using statements such as “up to nbn100 Speed Tier” and “nbn50 Speed Tier” but that fine print disclaimers were ineffective as they were not prominent and did not provide clear information.

For the last 16 months, the ACCC has been looking into the electricity industry, searching for the root causes of our high energy prices. That review has come up with 56 recommendations on how to "fix" the National Electricity Market. In their view, the reforms they're proposing could cut power bills down by as much as a quarter, depending on where you live.

This year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its first performance report for the Monitoring Broadband Australia program. Against many critics' expectations, the results paint a reasonably positive picture of our National Broadband Network (NBN), although there obviously remains lots of room for improvement. This infographic from the ACCC breaks down the chief findings from the final report.

The ACCC says that about 2,600 Australians receive hospital treatment for injuries caused by toppling furniture and televisions each year. That's approximately 50 people per week getting clobbered in their own homes by inanimate objects. Tragically, at least 22 children under the age of nine have died in Australia from toppling furniture or televisions since 2001 with children under 3 years of age at greatest risk. So, what can you do about this risk?

The Australian Competition and Comnsumer Commission (ACCC) has put the smack down on Fitbit after the company made representations to buyers about their rights that were contrary to Australian consumer law. From November 2016 to March 2017, Fitbit told customers that its warranty was only available for one year and that faulty products would be only replaced for the remainder of the calendar year or 30 days, whichever was longer.

The list of vehicles requiring replacement of defective Takata airbags continues to grow, with the ACCC adding a further million vehicles to a future recall list. With two in seven vehicles on Australian roads requiring replacement, there's a decent chance your vehicle is on the list. We have all the information on the recall here.