Designing Effective and Accessible Consumer Protections against Unfair Treatment in Markets where Automated Decision Making is used to Determine Access to Essential Services: A Case Study in Australia's Housing Market

Abstract

The use of data-driven Automated Decision Making (ADM) to determine access to products or services in competitive markets can enhance or limit access to equality and fair treatment. In cases where essential services such housing, energy and telecommunications, are accessed through a competitive market, consumers who are denied access to one or more of these services may not be able to access a suitable alternative if there are none available to match their needs, budget, and unique circumstances. Being denied access to an essential service such as electricity or housing can be an issue of life or death. Competitive essential services markets therefore illuminate the ways that using ADM to determine access to products or services, if not balanced by appropriate consumer protections, can cause significant harm. My research explores existing and emerging consumer protections that are effective in preventing consumers being harmed by ADM-facilitated decisions in essential services markets.