DM is the new text message, yet there’s nowhere to go with our social media complaints

Cynthia Gebert

The 21st century has seen rapid changes in communications. Social media has moved from the advent to the norm, becoming increasingly important for social and business connection. Yet despite our reliance on social media for communications, there is no external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme to help people when things go wrong.

When you think of digital platforms you probably think of contacting a friend or family member on something like Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp. These platforms depend on internet services to function and are increasingly becoming a common way for people to communicate and stay connected to each other. As the TIO can help with complaints about mobile, landline and internet problems, it is not surprising that we hear from consumers who think we can help with digital platform complaints as well.

However, at this moment in time, we cannot help people with complaints about digital platforms because these services aren’t in our jurisdiction.

We need an EDR scheme for complaints about digital platforms so that consumers have somewhere to go when they run into problems.

Since 2019, the ACCC has called for the establishment of an independent EDR scheme for digital platform complaints. We have supported the establishment of a Digital Platforms Ombudsman and, with the convergence between telco services and digital platforms for everyday communication, I believe the TIO is best placed to take on this role.

While complaints about social media are currently out of our jurisdiction, we still receive calls from consumers seeking help about these kinds of problems. Consumers are seeking help about digital platforms and social media companies such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Apple, Amazon and Kogan, to name a few. These are some of the biggest companies in the world who are operating without an EDR body to help consumers when internal dispute resolution fails.

Within the potential complaints we received, access issues were most common. This is when consumers are having trouble accessing or unlocking their accounts. This can be devastating for small businesses who rely on social media to run their businesses, and for people who use it to stay connected to friends and family overseas on in remote locations. Other common issues included faulty products sold through a digital platform, scams and nuisance calls, businesses disputing negative reviews, privacy complaints, and inappropriate or offensive content.

Our work at the TIO doesn’t only revolve around individual complaints. We look at the broader picture to see where telcos can improve their services to help reduce and prevent problems from affecting other consumers.

And, given the right powers, we can do the same for the digital platforms and social media companies too. We have the expertise to help consumers and the digital platforms find resolution with complaints and highlight systemic improvements that can create meaningful change.

As an example, where a consumer is a victim of a scam through an advertisement on social media, a Digital Platforms Ombudsman would work to resolve the harm to the consumer. But it could also proactively address the potential issue of the same advertisement affecting other consumers, like asking the platform to take down the advertisement and other similar ones.

Not only would the work we do resolve people’s individual complaints, but we can also help reduce the number of consumers exposed to the problem, and the number of consumers at risk of experiencing detriment as a result.

It’s essential that a Digital Platforms Ombudsman be appointed so that Australians have a way and a means to get help with problems about digital platforms.

Social media and many other digital platforms are simply new ways for people to communicate, closely associated with phone and internet services. I’m calling on the government to let us help keep Australians connected by delivering fair outcomes, and building trust between consumers and their communications provider, whoever that may be.

Read more in our submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society.