# Project\_4850 Research - Potentially harmful OCA online practices

> A sourced UK public sector contract award published by Department for Business and Trade.

## Key facts

- Buyer: [Department for Business and Trade](/buyers/department-for-business-and-trade/contract-awards)
- Supplier: [Revealing Reality](/suppliers/revealing-reality/public-sector-contract-awards)
- Award value: £79,925
- Tender value: £79,925
- Award date: 31 July 2025
- Published: 12 August 2025
- Contract start: 31 July 2025
- Contract end: 31 January 2026
- Stage: awarded
- Procurement category: services
- Notice ID: d066bbe5-a9a6-4a94-93d5-c1dde6cb0c14-858644
- OCID: ocds-b5fd17-d6cd907c-487f-4c2b-81a4-7c9004fe2282

## Description

A study to provide foundational evidence to DBT's policy teams on the nature and extent of potentially harmful OCA practices employed by a selected sample of digital platforms\. This evidence is crucial for subsequently developing appropriate regulatory responses and interventions to safeguard the interests of consumers and promote fair competition in online markets\. The goods or services procured through this contract will be used by the Department for Business and Trade to: 1\. Identify the types and frequency of potentially harmful OCAs used across selected online platforms\. 2\. Understand the probability of users encountering these practices on these platforms during their customer journey\. 3\. Obtain data-driven insights into the relationships between OCA prevalence and factors such as product categories, device types \(desktop vs mobile\), and platform types \(e-commerce vs social media with market functions\)\. 4\. Establish an evidence base on the current state of potentially harmful OCA usage by major online platforms operating in the UK market\. 5\. Use these findings to scope future research projects examining the negative impacts of OCAs on consumer welfare, autonomy, and market competition\. 6\. Contribute with evidence to update relevant consumer protection and competition policies, guidance, and enforcement approaches to address consumer harms and anti-competitive effects arising from the use of potentially harmful choice architectures by online platforms\.

## Related contract awards

- [Financial Review Services](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-74113f37-d053-461b-822c-9a470eec1e22) — Department for Business and Trade
- [Provision National Digital Twins Programme - Data Pipelines, Analytics and Visualisation PIN](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-4969fa6a-0836-49b0-ad3f-8521d8fb75c3) — Department for Business and Trade
- [Legal Services to support the Rolls-Royce Framework Agreement](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-0cff9d03-db85-433d-9f6d-7befcccabed7) — Department for Business and Trade
- [Provision of Trello Enterprise licences](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-49fe62f2-53a5-4002-9254-99ad03ae97df) — Department for Business and Trade
- [DHSC:Health Visit Qualitative Project](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-906cddaf-8208-4c9d-8ad1-1078b2b78095) — Department of Health and Social Care \(DHSC\)
- [Maternity Pathways Research](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-7be5e9d0-2b80-4e0c-b7b7-239bf24a938c) — GENOMICS ENGLAND LIMITED
- [Research into the impact of social media on the wellbeing and aspirations of children age 8-12](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-72a15dfb-e76e-496e-8ca4-6570382c6704) — Department For Education
- [Age Appropriate Design code Consulation with Carers/Parents & Children](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-4cf311a5-8837-433b-b090-17f7d1e54dca) — INFORMATION COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
- [QOC921 09:00 2026-08-20 Bury St Edmunds to Papworth Hall School, Cambs - 4-seater vehicle & Passenger Assistant required - AWARD](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-783f0291-8396-47dd-9b0c-dd1815ebeaf0) — Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport
- [QHL116 09:00 2026-08-20 Brockley to The Arch @ Castle Manor, Haverhill - 4-seater vehicle & PA required - AWARD](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-04e6ec0e-ac07-4718-80c2-b5c580ec3182) — Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport
- [Property Transformation Programme - Workplace Services Management](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-cd3eabe3-170b-42ea-9cef-1a6fc4b6e1b7) — Ministry of Justice
- [QOC929 09:00 2026-08-20 Bury St Edmunds to Cambridge Regional College, Milton, Cambs - 4-seater vehicle required - AWARD](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-b301994e-b4d5-4be0-aaa7-20bc82e79780) — Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport

## Source

[View the original notice on Contracts Finder](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d066bbe5-a9a6-4a94-93d5-c1dde6cb0c14-858644)