How is it that ads on the internet don’t seem to be subject to Australian Consumer Law, which requires advertisers not to mislead consumers? For instance, I am forever being told “this new cooling device will cool any room in 10 minutes while using 96% less energy than traditional air con systems and requires no pipes or installation”. As a mechanical engineer I can guarantee this is absolute garbage.
Most of the ads I see on platforms like YouTube are like this – they unashamedly lie about the product and its performance. This includes ads for health products putting people at significant risk. Is it simply that regulators don’t have the funding to police this, or respond to consumer complaints? Or have we abandoned consumer law just because the claims are made online?
Robert, Tasmania
Kat George says: The Australian Consumer Law applies to all businesses offering goods and services for sale in Australia, regardless of where that business is based. The Australian Consumer Law also applies, without ambiguity, to online advertising, including on social media.
This means that online advertising for goods and services cannot be false or misleading. Claims made in advertising for goods and services must be “true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds”, and a business needs to be able to prove that what they’re saying is truthful.
What you’ve described sounds like “greenwashing” where a business makes a claim “that makes a product or service seem better or less harmful for...
How is it that ads on the internet don’t seem to be subject to Australian Consumer Law, which requires advertisers not to mislead consumers? For instance, I am forever being told “this new cooling...