Up to 63,000 Australians who used Airbnb between January 2018 and August 2021 may be eligible for compensation after the platform admitted it misled people by quoting prices for Australian accomodation in US dollars. The Federal Court has also hit Airbnb Ireland – the parent company that runs the Australian operations, including the website and… Read more »
US-based Fitbit has been ordered to pay an $11 million penalty in a Federal Court case brought by the ACCC for making false, misleading or deceptive representations to 58 users about their refund or replacement rights when a device was faulty. It’s the second time a Fitbit Group company has fallen foul of the consumer… Read more »
Two subsidiaries of social media giant Meta, Facebook Israel and Onavo Inc, have been fined $10 million each for misleading conduct, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law, over a virtual private network (VPN) service that was used to gather data on users and share it with Facebook’s marketing team. Consumer watchdog the ACCC launched… Read more »
ASX-listed tradesperson platform Hipages Group has conceded to regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it potentially engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct over four years involving its subscription renewals and termination fees. The ACCC said the company’s actions were in breach of the Australian Consumer Law between October 2018 to January 2022… Read more »
Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to financial scammers in 2022. However, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) suggests the real figure is likely much higher, with an estimated 30% of scams going unreported. The findings come from the watchdog’s Targeting Scams report, which combines data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange… Read more »
Australian lawyers are seeking app developers to join a class action against Google and Apple over what they claim is an abuse of market power by charging 30% commissions on in-app spending while preventing competitive payment alternatives. The class action reflects similar legal action launched in 2020 by Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, against the… Read more »
The five largest tech giants may be using ‘dark patterns’ to prevent consumers from adopting online services from competitors, the ACCC has warned as it solicits feedback on a new issues paper exploring the companies’ entrance into a diverse range of markets. Recent years have seen Amazon, Apple, Facebook parent company Meta, Microsoft, and Google… Read more »
The Australia Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is combing through social media platforms to identify influencers that don’t disclose affiliations with the product and company they’re promoting. Social media users reported more than 100 influencers to the regulator. Most tip-offs were about beauty, lifestyle, parenting, and fashion influencers who failed to follow the advertising disclosure… Read more »
Legal action by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission against Google over changes to its data privacy policy has been dismissed by the Federal Court in a big win for the US tech company. The court found that Google did not mislead Australian consumers when it changed its privacy policy to expand the scope of… Read more »
Four years of misleading users about cancellation fees if they book a taxi via Uber’s app has cost the ridesharing company A$21 million. That’s roughly Uber’s commission on 3 million $20 rides. The Federal Court ordered Uber to pay the $21 million penalty after the US tech giant admitted it had engaged in misleading or… Read more »
The Australian and Consumer Competition Commission (ACCC) wants tougher regulations to tackle issues such as online scams, dodgy apps and fake reviews, putting the onus on major tech companies such as Meta and Google to address the harms caused to consumers, and small businesses. The ACCC’s fifth report in its five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry proposes… Read more »
Australia’s three largest internet service providers, Telstra, Optus and TPG have copped Federal Court penalties totalling $33.5 million after they all admitted to making false or misleading claims about their NBN plans. Telstra was ordered to pay $15 million, Optus $13.5 million, and TPG $5 million for breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in relation… Read more »
Consumer protection regulator the ACCC has launched new crackdowns on misleading environmental and sustainability marketing claims as well as fake or misleading online business reviews. ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said the online sweep over the coming weeks with see it review at least 200 company websites in the hunt for misleading environmental claims. “As… Read more »
The ACCC’s Digital Platforms Services Inquiry will dive into competition for social media services in Australia as part of the sixth interim report of the regulator’s five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry. The competition watchdog will also look at consumer issues, such as the way that businesses use social media advertising services, including paid influencers. An… Read more »
Tech giant Google has been hit with $60 million in penalties by Australia’s Federal Court for for making misleading representations to consumers about the collection and use of their personal location data on Android phones. The fine resulted from legal action by consumer watchdog the ACCC, which took Google to court in October 2019 over… Read more »
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