15 October 2024

TRANSCRIPT

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with Annie Guest.

ABC Radio AM Program

Subject: small business disputes with Big Tech digital platform providers

Nick Grimm (presenter)

Ever had a problem with an online platform but couldn't talk to a real person to get it fixed? As businesses increasingly complain about platforms doing too little to help them with problems, the Small Business Ombudsman is demanding tech companies appoint some flesh-and-blood customer service representatives to assist. Annie Guest reports.

Annie Guest

Melbourne man John Toomey gives speeches on wellness, and he promotes his business on social media. But he's recently had a big scare.

John Toomey (small business owner)

One day I found myself locked out of Facebook, I couldn't get in. You know my good name and reputation was being used to promote a scam and I know that one of my friends indulged and lost a thousand dollars.

Annie Guest

What happened next was also shocking for John Toomey.

John Toomey

So, I tried everything I could to get back in. I read all the guidelines provided by Facebook. I watched videos on the internet. And I tried everything and I just could not get back in. I just felt really abandoned, I felt I'm just on my own here. I was contemplating the fact that I actually might lose everything that I’d built up.

Annie Guest

He's one of an increasing number of business people who've lodged a complaint about the tech giants with the Small Business Ombudsman Bruce Billson.

Bruce Billson

This is 86 per cent higher than the same time last year for disputes involving one of these Big Tech platforms. Nearly three-quarters are related to the Meta platforms, Instagram and Facebook, where a lot of small businesses use those platforms as - in some cases - their only channel to engage with their customers. Something goes wrong, for instance the account might be hacked. The account’s then shut down and in the ultimate runaround the platforms say, hey get into our account to tell us that you can't get into our account.

Annie Guest

While most complaints were about Meta, 17 per cent were directed at Uber for payment problems. So, the Small Business Ombudsman is calling on the tech giants to have consistent procedures for resolution that include triggers for issues to be escalated and dedicated contacts, including a real person that a small business operator can talk to.

Bruce Billson

We want them to have really fair dinkum internal dispute resolution mechanisms. It's not good enough to have a frequently asked question area on a website that actually guides you to do things you just physically can't do because of the problem that led to you looking at those questions in the first place. Here's a novel idea, why not have a human that's available to be contacted when things are really grim.

Annie Guest 

Bruce Billson says the tech disruptions have caused some small businesses to collapse.

Bruce Billson

In some cases they can be off the air for weeks and months, really undermining their businesses.

Annie Guest

AM has contacted Uber and the tech giants representative Digi for interviews.