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NZ Business Fined For Out-of-Date Website

Posted by timothy on from the how-to-kill-a-golden-goose dept.

Peter writes "A story reports that a restaurant in New Zealand has been fined NZ$3000 for failing to keep its website up to date. By having out-of-date menus and prices on its website, it has breached the Fair Trading Act, according to the New Zealand Commerce Commission."

8 of 377 comments (clear)

  1. Nonsense by Stevyn · · Score: 5, Informative

    The fact that it's on the Internet is moot; it's false advertising. Simply that.

    1. Re:Nonsense by nacturation · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd take exception to this if it were just a matter of the owner once having a website done up and then forgot about it. But the restaurant was warned not only by the customer who complained but also by the restaurant assocation. Even after all that, nothing was done. So it's clearly false advertising.

      And, once again, this has *nothing* to do with my rights online. How's that Legal section coming along, Taco?

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    2. Re:Nonsense by __aadhrk6380 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Amen!

      If you advertise rates and don't meet them, you're wrong. I can understand "forgetting" to update your site, but once someone told you about it and it still goes uncorrected? There has to be some responsibility on the part of the advertisor (regardless of the medium) to make things right. Internet ads still account for billions of dollars world wide, and this is no different than a regular print or TV ad.

      There have to be warnings in place prior to sanctions - Again, there is always the possibility of an oversight, especially in the case of a company that doesn't use the web as their primary advertising method, but once notified, fix it for Gods sake!

      I was ready to come down hard here, but after I RTFA, I don't have a problem with this.

    3. Re:Nonsense by Frank+T.+Lofaro+Jr. · · Score: 5, Insightful

      False advertising on the Internet is still false advertising, no new laws are needed, it is illegal in any medium. In general things illegal in one medium are illegal in all, unless the law specifies otherwise.

      This isn't a rights or "Internet" or online case primarily, it is a case of false representations that happened to be on the Internet. Not fundamentally different than if it had been in a newspaper or radio ad, or a billboard, etc.

      --
      Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
    4. Re:Nonsense by whathappenedtomonday · · Score: 5, Funny
      False advertising on the Internet is still false advertising

      you mean things like "news for nerds, stuff that matters", right?

      --
      I hope I didn't brain my damage.
  2. There's nothing wrong by MC68000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The internet is a mature medium. The restaurant was warned about it, and they failed to do anything. It's an open and shut case of false advertising. Would you tolerate your brokerage firm listing out of date brokerage fees? Or your bank listing out of date interest rates?

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  3. This sends a good message by nodehopper · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This goes back to the days of "Bait and Switch" advertising in newspapers back in the 70's. Certainly, if the restaurant posted prices, then they do have a legitimate responsibility to keep that sort of "Time Sensitive" information up to date.

    "The complaining customer had notified both the restaurant and the Restaurant Association of New Zealand that the website menu was out of date and misleading, but the operator, despite knowing about the issue, had done nothing to correct the website."

    This sends a good message to commercial web site operators and e-commerce sites that they have to maintain current and correct information and can't just say "We didn't have time to update things.....so not our problem"

    I don't think I need to worry about my blog I set up one weekend a couple months ago and haven't touched since......do I ???
    --
    "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. " Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  4. Re:It's false advertising by nacturation · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Once you start a website, should you be legally obligated to keep it up to date? What if it's a personal website that gives obsolte directions on how to get somewhere? This seems like a really hasty and simplistic decision by people who haven't thought the situation through.

    Imagine if your bank advertised no charges on all bank accounts on their website, so you sign up for several accounts and all your friends an family do too. At the end of the month, you get your statements and find that you've been charged a lot in bank charges. So you notify the bank about it and also let the local banking assocation know. The banking assocation also notifies the bank about it but still the bank does nothing to correct the obvious error, such as having the page removed or shutting down the site.

    Do you think it's wrong to fine the bank in that situation?

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