The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has lost its appeal of a ruling that found Woolworths’ environmental claims for its ‘Select Eco’ line of compostable plates, bowls and cutlery were accurate, not false and misleading.
Google has rejected claims by the ACCC that it tricked consumers into agreeing to expanded collection of their personal data, saying that it instead sought “explicit consent” from users through an “easy-to-understand opt-in consent mechanism”.
Telstra has suffered a defeat in its lawsuit accusing competitor Singtel Optus of violating consumer laws with ads claiming it is “covering more of Australia than ever before”, with a judge calling Telstra’s allegations that the ads implied a comparison with other telcos “strained and fanciful”.
Eyewear retailer Oscar Wylee has been fined $3.5 million for its misleading ‘Buy a pair, Give a pair’ promotion, with a judge calling the representations “brazen” and “plainly deceitful”.
A maritime development company has had its discovery hopes dashed in its stayed competition lawsuit against NSW Ports, with a judge finding that the company would not suffer any injustice in waiting until the stay is lifted after a similar case brought by the competition regulator is heard.
Common fund orders are again under scrutiny in a class action which was at the centre of the High Court’s decision to strike down the orders, with a NSW Supreme Court judge sending back to the appeals court the question of whether the orders can be made at settlement.
The Australian Competition Tribunal has shot down ACCC moves to restrict the use of buy now, pay later finance for the purchase of solar goods and other new energy technology products.
The ACCC has asked a court to impose a $3.5 million penalty against eyewear retailer Oscar Wylee for making misleading representations about its charitable donations and affiliations, including that it would donate one pair of eyeglasses to charity for every pair purchased.
Australian construction company Grocon has been ordered to pay $1 million in security for costs to continue its pursuit of a $270 million lawsuit against Infrastructure NSW over the development of Central Barangaroo, despite claiming it’s financials have taken a hit from the pandemic.
The Greens Party is urging the Morrison Government to include the ABC and SBS in its mandatory media bargaining code, saying the plan to make Google and Facebook pay for news content was “incomplete” without protections for the public broadcasters.