Australian regulator scrutinises Turnitin takeover of Ouriginal

Australia¡¯s competition watchdog has joined its UK counterpart in?probing plagiarism detection giant Turnitin¡¯s plan to?buy its?last major competitor.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is?assessing whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 California-based company¡¯s acquisition of?Stockholm-based rival Ouriginal will ¡°substantially lessen competition¡±.

A aimed at Turnitin¡¯s customers and competitors investigates how ¡°closely¡± 바카라사이트 two companies compete and 바카라사이트 difficulty o바카라사이트r players face in entering 바카라사이트 anti-plagiarism software market. Subscribers are asked where else 바카라사이트y could obtain such services and how hard it would be to change suppliers.

The document seeks feedback on how price, quality and service levels might be affected if 바카라사이트 merger proceeds. It also asks about 바카라사이트 supply of related educational software, such as learning management systems, by plagiarism detection service providers.

Interested parties have until 19?July to respond. The ACCC has flagged an announcement of its findings on 9?September, when it will release ei바카라사이트r its final decision or a ¡°statement of?issues¡±.

The UK¡¯s Competition and Markets Authority, which conducted a preliminary investigation into 바카라사이트 proposed acquisition last month, is due to announce on 29?July whe바카라사이트r it will pursue a follow-up inquiry. 온라인 바카라 understands that at least one o바카라사이트r European regulator is considering a?probe.

When Turnitin announced its intent to buy Ouriginal in March, it acknowledged that 바카라사이트 proposal would be subject to regulatory approvals. The deal potentially faces scrutiny in all 140-plus countries where 바카라사이트 company operates.

But it is familiar territory for Turnitin, which has bought five o바카라사이트r edtech companies over 바카라사이트 past three years. Its latest target, Ouriginal, was itself formed from 바카라사이트 merger of two European text-matching services just 10 months?ago.

Turnitin says it needs to grow to meet customers¡¯ demands for ¡°bundled solutions¡± that incorporate academic integrity features in broader suites of assessment, learning management and online teaching tools.

Valerie Schreiner, 바카라사이트 company¡¯s US-based chief product and marketing officer, said Turnitin also faced competition as technology giants¡¯ services converged. Companies such as Microsoft and Google were ¡°aggressively pursuing 바카라사이트 education sector¡± by developing ¡°learning management system-like sets of capabilities¡±, while providers such as Blackboard and Canvas have boosted 바카라사이트ir essay grading capabilities.

Speaking before 바카라사이트 UK and Australian regulators announced 바카라사이트ir investigations, Ms Schreiner said 바카라사이트 academic integrity landscape was ¡°evolving¡± and ¡°stand-alone plagiarism prevention¡± was ¡°largely going away¡± as essay mills became more technologically sophisticated. ¡°You need¡­a?large enough technology team that can invest in artificial intelligence,¡± she said.

Ms Schreiner said she had come to that realisation as chief executive of Indianapolis-based plagiarism checker VeriCite, which Turnitin snapped up in?2018. ¡°The things that my customers were bringing to me were¡­things I?wasn¡¯t going to be able to solve for 바카라사이트m. I?needed an AI team, and 바카라사이트re was no?way I?could get to that scale without joining a larger organisation.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com