Apple will pay $2.25 million penalty to settle its case with consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; after it agreeing that it had misled the public by claiming the “WiFi + 4G” model could connect to the 4G network in Australia, when in reality it could not. According to The Australian, ACCC’s lawyers told the court that this “substantial” penalty would send a message to the industry “that […]
Apple has quietly removed any mention of 4G’s support on the iPad in its promotional material and in its store in several countries, including Australia, after regulators complained that suggesting that it has the feature when it doesn’t even work in the country is a tad misleading. It has replaced the name of its ‘Wi-Fi + 4G’ model to the ‘Wi-Fi + Cellular’. In Australia, it has also made sure […]
The ACCC has announced that it will sue Apple over the iPad being promoted as having 4G in the model with Wi-Fi and mobile data connectivity, alleging that such claims are breaking the Australian Consumer Law. “The ACCC alleges that Apple’s conduct contravenes sections 18, 29(1)(a), 29(1)(g) and 33 of the ACL,” it said in a statement. It is also seeking an order that would see Apple correct its advertising, […]
The Government has struck a major coup in its communications policy when the bill that would separate Telstra’s wholesale arm – which provides the copper lines to other telecommunications companies and internet service providers – and its retail arm has passed the lower house.
It feels like the longest episode so far, but it’s apparently not. Yes, the whole team is back… before they left again. However, not before we go through all the week’s Apple stories that managed to take up 15 minutes of the episode. Yes. You heard that. You might as well skip the 15 minutes. We talk about Skyfire, iBookstores and introduce a new segment called Gadgets. We are resting […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal proceedings against well-known computer parts store MSY Technology for making false and misleading claims on warranty, breaching the Trade Practices Act 1974.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has threatened the telecommunications industry with a plan to add additional reforms to the Telecommunications Act after an report by the industry’s ombudsman said that there was a massive spike in complaints from customers. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has said that it received 230,065 complaints from consumers and small businesses during the 2008-2009 financial year, representing a 54 percent increase from the previous year. However, […]
Paymate, a service similar to eBay’s PayPal, has lodged a compliant with the competition regulator alleging that the auction site has breached the Trade Practices Act after eBay amended its user agreement so sellers must include PayPal as one of the payment options for every listing. This conduct, Paymate says, restricts its ability (and other payment options) to be adopted on auctions hosted on the site since it mandates PayPal […]
The ACCC has rejected the plans for immunity from eBay Australia to reduce the payment options to either its PayPal service or Cash on Delivery, arguing that forcing users to use the eBay-owned service will reduce competition. The ACCC asked the Australian public to give submissions on their thought of eBay’s new plan. It received over 700 individuals submissions, arguing that eBay was ‘double-dipping’ with eBay’s fees on auctions and […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian equivalent to the Federal Trade Commission in the US, has now launched legal action on Google and the Trading Post, which is owned by Telstra under the Sensis brand. The ACCC claim has been centres on the way Google handles it’s sponsored advertising. The case, lodged in the Federal Court in Sydney, says that the Trading Post broke the regulations on […]