The Federal Parliament of Australia has issued subpoenas to major technology companies regarding an inquiry into higher prices of technology and video game products in the country, according to the Delimiter.
The investigation is based off of submissions from the public, which reported that there has been a distinct lack of attention paid to prices, causing the anger and outrage of consumers. The submissions were collected ending in July of last year.
The focus was on online stores of major technology retailers such as Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe, who all received subpoenas. Valve, the Sony Playstation Network, and Amazon Kindle have also been cited as offenders by the Australian populace.
Last year, Adobe revealed that consumers could pay as much as $1,400 more for software in Australia than in the United States.
Adding to the collective anger is the fact that many of these companies have refused to come forward to respond to the inquiries. The subpoenas issued have been the first effort by the government to delve into these inquiries.
The House Committee on Infrastructure and Communications will meet on Friday to discuss the investigation with the Attorney General and IP Australia. Committee chair Nick Champion said that the hearing will focus on the issue of geoblocking, or the practice of forcing consumers in a specific regions to pay certain prices, according to a Federal Parliament press release.
"We’ve received evidence that big IT companies and copyright holders charge Australians, on average, an extra 50% just because we live here, a practice referred to by consumers as the 'Australia Tax,'" Champion said.
Whether or not the committee finds many of these inquiries to be true, there is hope that there will be a change about how companies maintain honesty in prices to their consumers.
"Apple, Adobe and Microsoft are good companies, with a lot of good people working for them. I am looking forward to seeing a bit more honesty and transparency from them with regard to why their products (especially digital products) can at times be so heavily marked up for the Australian market," Delimiter said.
