consumer watchdog – Michmutters

Tag: consumer watchdog

Categories
Business

Google fined $60m for misleading Australian Android users about location data after ACCC court action

Google fined $60m for misleading Australian Android users about location data after ACCC court action

Google has been with a massive $60m fine after it was found the tech giant mislead Australian Android users about how it used their data in order to target them with advertising.

The fine comes as a result of Australia’s consumer watchdog taking the tech giant to court in 2019.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged that Android phone settings were misleading.

It accused Google of storing the location data of some users even if they had “Location History” turned off.

The Federal Court ordered the tech giant to pay the $60m penalty after it found it had breached Australian consumer laws by misleading some Android owners between January 2017 and December 2018.

The court found that another setting titled “Web & App Activity” also allowed location data to be shared with Google.

The ACCC says its best estimate, based on available data, is that the users of 1.3 million Google accounts in Australia may have viewed a screen found by the court to have breached Australian consumer laws.

Google took remedial steps and had addressed all of the contravening conduct by 20 December 2018, meaning that users were no longer shown the misleading screens, the ACCC said.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the court’s decision sent a strong message to digital platforms and other businesses about using people’s data.

“Personal location data is sensitive and important to some consumers,” she said in a statement.

“Some of the users who saw the representations may have made different choices about the collection, storage and use of their location data if the misleading representations had not been made by Google.”

Ms Cass-Gottlieb said the penalty was the first instance of public enforcement to come from the ACCC’s digital inquiry platforms.

A spokesman for Google confirmed the company had agreed to settle the matter with the ACCC.

“We’ve invested heavily in making location information simple to manage and easy to understand with industry-first tools like auto-delete controls, while significantly minimizing the amount of data stored,” he spokesman said.

“As we’ve demonstrated, we’re committed to making ongoing updates that give users control and transparency, while providing the most helpful products possible.”

Read related topics:Google

.

Categories
Business

Sydney Pork Rolls charging customers 20 cents to cut roll in half

Sydney Pork Rolls charging customers 20 cents to cut roll in half

The rising cost of living has reached new heights at a Sydney pork roll store, after a customer spotted an unusual surcharge on the sandwich bar’s menu.

A photo posted to Reddit shows Vietnamese restaurant Sydney Pork Rolls’ extensive list of surcharges for extra fillings and a bag.

A roll from the store ranges from $5.50 and $8.50 in price with additional meat, ham or an egg to set the customer back an extra $1.50 while a second bag costs 10 cents.

But at the bottom of the list is an odd surcharge for a standard request, with the Haymarket shop charging customers an extra 20 cents if they request to have their roll “half cut”.

It’s a menu item that has baffled pork roll fans as some question why there’s an extra cost for a “two-second” service.

“Which way to cut in half?” one Reddit user commented. “Longways? Sideways? Across ways? So many questions here.”

“50 cents to ask why it costs 20 cents to cut,” posted another.

Meanwhile others thought of ways to get around the additional expense.

“Ask for it to be cut into thirds, must be free as it’s not on the price list,” one comment read.

Another said they might consider halving it themselves with their own butter knife.

The uncanny surcharge also had commenters crunching the numbers to see how much extra money the business could make in an hour.

“With a two-second cut … that equals $360p/hr. I’m getting into the sandwich biz,” one comment read.

“They should ask ‘would you like to cut it in half?’ like a fast food worker upselling (by) asking if ‘you want fries with that’,” said another.

Others have justified the additional cost explaining it could be due to the restaurant using more packaging to divide the roll.

“Getting it cut in half means the two halves are wrapped and packaged separately. It’s completely reasonable to charge extra,” a Reddit user posted, defending the expense.

Sydney Pork Rolls in Haymarket has been contacted for comment.

The roll half-cut surcharge joins a list of several other odd additional costs Sydneysiders have spotted around the state recently.

A Sydney airport cafe was reportedly charging $1.50 extra if a customer wanted more tomato in a toastie while others have noticed the price of babychino’s increase from $1 to $2.50 in other cafes across the state.

Some hospitality services and small businesses are also charging their customers extra by a small percentage if they pay for their items by tapping their debit or credit card opposed to inserting or swiping.

“Local cafe great before lockdown (sic) in Western Sydney, now surcharges if you pay with debit card,” one Sydneysider tweeted.

Venues can also charge a public holiday surcharge or weekend fee where prices are increased by a percentage on those days.

According to Australia’s consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), businesses can charge surcharges at their own discretion so long as the terms surrounding the surcharge are explicitly stated and don’t come as a surprise to the customer.

“The menu (or price list) must include the words ‘a surcharge of [percentage] applies on [the specified day or days]’ and these words must be displayed at least as prominently as the most prominent price on the menu (or price list),” the ACCC said.

There is no limit as to how much extra a business can charge in additional costs.

Read related topics:sydney

.

Categories
Business

Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of ‘hindering’ Optus 5G rollout

Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of 'hindering' Optus 5G rollout

Telstra has been ordered to deregister more than 150 radio sites under a court-enforceable order, after Australia’s consumer watchdog raised concerns the company was “hindering” a rival telco’s 5G rollout.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a lengthy investigation after over concerns about the telecommunication giant’s registration of 315 low-band radiocommunications sites back in January.

Low-band spectrum, such as 900MHz, can transmit over greater distances and is used by mobile network operators to provide coverage and capacity.

The ACCC probe raised concern Telstra’s regulation of the 315 sites would have “hindered” or prevented its rival Optus from deploying its 5G network, thereby preventing it from engaging in competitive conduct.

Under the court undertaking, Telstra is now required to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites registered in the 900MHz band.

The company holds a license for parts of the 900MHz spectrum band until June 2024.

But up until January, Telstra was making little use of the spectrum and had not registered a new site since 2016.

Optus successfully bid for licenses in the low-band spectrum following an auction by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in December last year.

Telstra then registered the other 315 low-band radiocommunications sites.

They later deregistered 153, with 162 remaining registered.

The undertaking, agreed to by the ACCC, requires Telstra to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites it registered with the ACMA in the 900MHz spectrum band in January 2022 which would have prevented Optus early access to the spectrum.

ACCC chair Liza Carver said the undertaking meant more Australians in regional and metropolitan areas would have access to a choice of 5G services.

“This is critical as 5G network coverage becomes an increasingly important factor in consumer choice in mobile phones and mobile plans,” she said.

“Competition is key to driving innovation and investment in new technology and providing consumers with greater choice, better quality services and lower prices.”

The new court order comes after Telstra announced it would return all of its call centers to Australia after ongoing consumer demand.

“What we heard loud and clear was that you wanted a change in the way we answered our calls, so we did it,” CEO Andrew Penn said last month.

.

Categories
Business

Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of ‘hindering’ Optus 5G rollout

Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of 'hindering' Optus 5G rollout

Telstra has been ordered to deregister more than 150 radio sites under a court-enforceable order, after Australia’s consumer watchdog raised concerns the company was “hindering” a rival telco’s 5G rollout.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a lengthy investigation after over concerns about the telecommunication giant’s registration of 315 low-band radiocommunications sites back in January.

Low-band spectrum, such as 900MHz, can transmit over greater distances and is used by mobile network operators to provide coverage and capacity.

The ACCC probe raised concern Telstra’s regulation of the 315 sites would have “hindered” or prevented its rival Optus from deploying its 5G network, thereby preventing it from engaging in competitive conduct.

Under the court undertaking, Telstra is now required to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites registered in the 900MHz band.

The company holds a license for parts of the 900MHz spectrum band until June 2024.

But up until January, Telstra was making little use of the spectrum and had not registered a new site since 2016.

Optus successfully bid for licenses in the low-band spectrum following an auction by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in December last year.

Telstra then registered the other 315 low-band radiocommunications sites.

They later deregistered 153, with 162 remaining registered.

The undertaking, agreed to by the ACCC, requires Telstra to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites it registered with the ACMA in the 900MHz spectrum band in January 2022 which would have prevented Optus early access to the spectrum.

ACCC chair Liza Carver said the undertaking meant more Australians in regional and metropolitan areas would have access to a choice of 5G services.

“This is critical as 5G network coverage becomes an increasingly important factor in consumer choice in mobile phones and mobile plans,” she said.

“Competition is key to driving innovation and investment in new technology and providing consumers with greater choice, better quality services and lower prices.”

The new court order comes after Telstra announced it would return all of its call centers to Australia after ongoing consumer demand.

“What we heard loud and clear was that you wanted a change in the way we answered our calls, so we did it,” CEO Andrew Penn said last month.

.