In ACCC v Allergy Pathway Pty Ltd (No 2) [2011] FCA 74, Allergy Pathway Pty Ltd and its director, were fined $7,500 each for breach of undertakings made to the court in 2009 after the ACCC succeed in an action against them for false, misleading and deceptive conduct. The issue in recent proceedings was whether Allergy Pathway should be responsible for statements posted by third parties which contravened the undertakings.

Justice Finkelstein held that even though the representations were written and posted by clients on Allergy Pathway’s Facebook and Twitter pages, Allergy Pathway was responsible for the publications as it failed to remove them.

Businesses should monitor their social media pages regularly to ensure that any incorrect, misleading or offensive statements by third parties are removed.