FAS: IT IS NECESSARY TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE ACTIONS OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS

It concerns the formation of consumer behavior and using customers’ data

It was stated at the session on digital ethics and psychology within the framework of the SPIEF by the Deputy Head of FAS, Peter Ivanov.

Modern digital markets are characterized by a great influence on consumers and form their preferences based on the analysis of user behavior. At the same time, digital ecosystems attract the attention of consumers in positions that are convenient for themselves.

For example, during the antimonopoly investigation against Google, the service noted that the mass consumer likes to be comfortable with minimal effort: he will use something he does not need to look for and that is offered to him in the first place. Such conditions can develop into non-transparent algorithms for ranking and prioritizing search on the Internet, limiting competition in the market.

In particular, the FAS has established that the rules related to the formation, suspension, blocking of accounts and the circulation of user content on Youtube are opaque, biased and unpredictable. This leads to sudden blocking and deletion of user accounts without warning and justification of actions. By the decision of the Authority, the company was recognized as violating the Russian antimonopoly legislation.

In the context of antimonopoly regulation, it is data on consumer behavior that is the most valuable resource. Possession and its use contribute to the growth of the market power of companies.

All these aspects lead to the need to educate conscious consumption on the Internet, as well as the most understandable and transparent disclosure of the mechanisms of the platform or ecosystem.

FAS established the foundations for it in the basic principles, to which the market joined in February 2022, declaring conscientious behavior.

The principles, on the one hand, should contribute to the formation of open, transparent, non―discriminatory conditions for doing business, and on the other hand, ensure the implementation of the constitutional rights of citizens, in particular, the freedom to receive and disseminate information and privacy.

According to FAS, the actions of digital platforms need to be paid close attention. It  concerns the formation of consumer behavior and the use of consumer data. Both in the context of establishing requirements for openness and transparency of the behavior of digital platforms, protecting the rights of users, and in the context of increasing the level of conscious consumption of digital services, teaching citizens to value their own data and preferences.