Australian eTailer Kogan has paid a $310,800 penalty, after it was found to have breached Australian spam laws.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found that Kogan had sent more than 42 million marketing emails that consumers could not easily unsubscribe from.
Instead, when consumers wanted to unsubscribe, they had to set up a password and log into a Kogan account.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said that consumers must be able to unsubscribe from emails easily.
"Kogan’s breaches have affected millions of consumers.
"The ACMA received complaints from a number of recipients of Kogan’s email expressing their frustration and concern with Kogan’s practices.
"Businesses must comply with the unsubscribe requirements in the spam rules.
"This investigation makes clear that businesses can’t force customers to set a password and login to unsubscribe from receiving commercial messages," she said.
ACMA said that it sent Kogan multiple compliance notices, alerting it to instances of non-compliance before commencing the investigation.
These alerts are sent to businesses, warning them that they could be put under investigation, O'Loughlin added.
"ACMA alerts put businesses on notice—address consumer concerns or we will investigate you under the law, as we have done here.
"That said, we acknowledge that Kogan fully cooperated with the ACMA in our investigation and took actions to update their unsubscribe facilities prior to its completion," she said.
Alongside the monetary penalty, the ACMA has accepted a three-year court-enforceable undertaking from Kogan, requiring it appoint an independent consultant to review its systems, processes and procedures, and to implement any recommendations from the review.
The undertaking also requires Kogan to train staff responsible for sending marketing messages and to regularly report back to the ACMA on actions taken in relation to consumer complaints.
“This substantial infringement notice and a comprehensive three-year court-enforceable undertaking sends a message to Kogan and other businesses that the ACMA will take strong action for breaches of the spam rules," O'Loughlin added.
Over the past 18 months, businesses have paid more than $2.1 million in ACMA-issued fines for breaching spam and telemarketing laws.
Enforcement action for breaches of spam laws can include formal warnings, infringement notices, action in the Federal Court and accepting court-enforceable undertakings.
Repeat corporate offenders can face court-imposed penalties of up to $1.11 million a day.
Kogan's ACMA fine follows other large penalties it has had to pay in recent months, including $350,000 to the ACCC for making false or misleading representations about a tax time sales promotion.