Displaying items by tag: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

GUEST OPINIION by Mark Feetham, Partner, Thomson Geer:  In Australia there is no legal right to ask for personal information held about you by a third party to be deleted. While that may not seem too consequential given the willingness with which we hand over our personal information to lead our digitally connected lives (for example through use of social media services), there are circumstances when it can be life defining.

The chief of Australia’s competition watchdog, Rod Sims, has been confirmed as the new vice chair digital co-ordination and Asia-Pacific liaison of the International Competition Network (ICN).

The competition watchdog the ACCC has granted authorisation for a joint renewable energy purchasing group led by Equinix, where applicants will pool their demand and collectively tender and negotiate to purchase power from a solar or wind electricity generation facility in Australia.

The Lorna Jane womens activewear manufacturer and retailer has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $5 million in penalties for making false and misleading representations to consumers, and engaging in conduct liable to mislead the public in connection with the promotion and supply of its LJ Shield Activewear.

Six subsidiaries of media firm Nine Entertainment have paid penalties totalling $159,840 after the competition regulator the ACCC issued them with 12 infringement notices for allegedly charging subscribers and advertisers excessive payment surcharges.

Payment redirection scams were the most financially damaging scams for Australian businesses in 2020 according to the competition watchdog, the ACCC’s latest targeting scams report.

Australians have lost a record $851 million to scams, with scammers taking advantage of the pandemic to con unsuspecting people, according to a new report which also reveals that investment scams accounted for the biggest losses.

Telcos Dodo and iPrimus have been ordered to pay $1.5 million and $1 million respectively in penalties for making misleading claims about their NBN broadband speeds.

Audio-Technica wireless headphones with the model number ATH-CK3TW have been recalled due to a fire risk.

Car manufacturers have successfully recalled 99.9% of the more than 3 million vehicles affected by deadly Takata airbags which are subject to a compulsory recall.

Tasmanian electricity retailer 1st Energy has admitted it likely misled consumers in making representations to consumers in the State during unsolicited telemarketing calls.

Over 65,000 vehicles with deadly Takata airbags still remain on Australian roads with just four weeks until the compulsory recall deadline.

Young people are reporting the highest losses to threat-based scams, with Australians having lost over $8.8 million to the scams so far this year, and people aged 24 and under reporting losing more than $4.1 million to the scams.

Australia’s competition watchdog the ACCC is hauling global search giant Google before the Federal Court over allegations that the company misled Australian consumers to obtain their consent to expand the scope of personal information that it could collect and combine about consumers’ Internet activity - for use by Google, including for targeted advertising.

Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro is claiming an Australia-first launch of its Consumer Data Right (CDR) Open Banking automated compliance check which it says is designed to simplify customers’ ability to create and launch compliant, secure Open Banking services.

PayPal says there has been a boom in ecommerce with a significant increase in Australians adopting online shopping during the COVID 19 crisis.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have inked a new agreement setting out how they will work together on ensuring compliance with consumer law and their approach to the resolution of systemic issues in the telecommunications industry.

The chief of Australia’s competition watchdog, the ACCC, Rod Sims, says competition has a critical role to play in getting the economy running efficiently again post the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.

Scammers are using new online platforms to take advantage of their victims, with dating and romance scams making up one fifth of losses amounting to millions of dollars, across all scams reported to the ACCC’s Scamwatch service in 2019.

The Australian Government has come under fire from the Institute of Public Affairs over its response to the digital platforms inquiry, with the institute condemning the Government for a “disgraceful attack” on free speech.