Tag Archives: misleading

Facebook and eBay crack down on fake product reviews after UK warning

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Facebook and eBay are taking steps to crack down on fake and misleading product reviews, following an advisory notice from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Both companies have signed agreements to better identify, investigate and res...

Australian High Court rescues Google, says it isn’t responsible for the content of ads

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Australian High Court rescues Google, says it isn't responsible for the content of ads

No one can doubt the stamina of Australia's consumer watchdog, the ACCC. For six long years it hauled Google from hearing to hearing, court to court, in the belief that the internet giant should be held responsible for any "misleading" advertisements displayed as search results. But now the ACCC must accept defeat. Five judges of Australia's High Court have unanimously overturned an earlier ruling from a lower court that would have required Google to set up a compliance program to vet ads. The upshot is that Mountain View can't be blamed if one of those ads turns out to be deceptive. The specific example that triggered the lawsuit -- that if someone had searched Google in 2006 for the words "Honda Australia," they'd have been shown a sponsored link from one of Honda's rivals -- may already seem like an outdated objection. As a result of this final ruling, that's exactly what it is.

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Source: Reuters

Aussie regulator raps TV makers for touting ‘WiFi ready’ products

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Aussie regulator raps TV makers for touting 'WiFi ready' products

Sony, LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sharp will no longer be marketing their TVs and Blu-Ray players as "WiFi ready" in Australia unless they're actually ready to connect to a WiFi network. Many products labeled as such often require the additional purchase of a $100-$120 AUD ($80-$100) dongle, and the ACCC, the country's US FTC doppelgänger, has ordered the makers to stop the practice. It all started when a customer complained to the watchdog after feeling burned when his "WiFi ready" TV... wasn't. The fact that similar terms were being used on products that actually have built-in adapters was another strike against the practice, according to the regulator from down under. However, if you happen to reside somewhere else in the world, it's caveat emptor, as usual.

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Aussie regulator raps TV makers for touting 'WiFi ready' products originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Australian court holds Google responsible for misleading search ads

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Australian court holds Google responsible for misleading search ads
In a turnaround from a lower court ruling, three Australian Federal Court judges ruled yesterday that Google was responsible for its advertisers' content and that it breached the country's trade law by hosting misleading ads. The case centered on four ads in particular, in which the advertisers used the names of their competitors to ensure the ads appeared in search results for said companies. That, the court ruled, was likely to mislead folks searching for those competitors. While there's no fine imposed on Google with that judgement, the judges are asking Google to change its practices and to pay court costs. The ruling also, of course, sets quite a precedent if it is upheld. Not surprisingly, Google disagrees with the judges' decision, noting that it believes "advertisers should be responsible for the ads they create on the AdWords platform," and that it's now considering its options (including an appeal to the High Court).

Australian court holds Google responsible for misleading search ads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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