Antivirus software competition investigation
First published by Author on April 18, 2019 in the following categories: Industry Investigations and tagged with cma | competition law | investigations
An antivirus software competition investigation has been launched by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) in the last few months.
What’s interesting about this case is that it was launched as part of the wider reviews following the loyalty penalty super complaint initiated by Citizens Advice. The loyalty penalty super complaint could trigger a number of reviews across a wide range of market sectors.
If it’s all in the name of improving competition and enforcing compliance of the vital regulations that we have in place to protect consumers, we’re all for it.
Antivirus software competition investigation launched
The antivirus software competition investigation was launched by the CMA following the loyalty potently super complaint.
The concerns that the CMA is looking at is whether the industry is compliant with consumer law. The particular focus is on whether business practices and terms and conditions for the automatic renewal of subscriptions are fair and above board.
The CMA is set to consider:
- Default options for automatic renewal;
- Notifications of renewal: whether they’re sent and when they’re sent;
- Renewal payments: when they’re taken, and changes to the price of the original subscription.
An update in respect of how this one is progressing should be due any time soon.
Are we being penalised for loyalty in the antivirus sector?
It may be that the CMA finds that the consumer is being penalised for sticking with the same antivirus providers. It may be that people are just “sleepwalking” into renewals.
We’ve seen big changes in industries like the banking sector over people lacking any motivation – and importantly, ease of ability – to switch providers. The antivirus software competition investigation should uncover whether there are any breaches of vital consumer law being committed.
At this early stage, it’s impossible to know what the findings may be. There are many ways that business practices can be cute to ensure that renewals take place. With the growth in the need for cybersecurity in recent years, this is undoubtedly an important sector for the CMA to be looking into.