A judge has hit Optus, Telstra, and TPG with a total of $33.5 million in penalties for misleading thousands of NBN customers into paying for internet speeds that could not be achieved.
Telstra has agreed to pay a $15 million penalty for misleading thousands of NBN customers about internet plan speeds, a sum which will bring the telco’s bill for consumer law violations since 2018 up to $75 million, if approved.
Optus has agreed to pay a $13.5 million penalty for misleading thousands of NBN customers into paying for internet plan speeds that could not be achieved, the telco’s third penalty in four years over misleading representations made in relation to its NBN services.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has opened an investigation of Optus following last month’s cyberattack, centering on the adequacy of the teleco’s privacy practices.
Teleco contractor BSA, which resolved a class action by its workforce for $20 million, won’t be recouping the costs of legal action to exclude a $13 million capital raising from the settlement.
Optus has been hit with a class action-style complaint over a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of up to 1o million current and former customers.
Rules governing telecommunications companies will be amended in the wake of the Optus data breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 10 million customers.
Cable TV giant Foxtel has lost a protracted IP battle with subsidiary of global tech giant Cognizant over a digital download patent for a modern DVR system.
A mobile network sharing agreement between Telstra and TPG is likely to boost the companies’ services to customers but could lead to TPG raising prices, the competition regulator said Friday.
The federal government has flagged reforms to Australia’s privacy laws in the wake of a cyberattack that left the data of up to 10 million current and former Optus customers exposed, including heftier penalties for companies that fail to safeguard users’ personal data.