Ticketek has been fined $515,040 for sending spam texts and emails. An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Ticketek sent around 98,000 unsolicited marketing texts and emails in 2022. Ticketek argued the texts and emails did not breach the Spam Act because they were not advertising material. ACMA found the emails also contained links to Ticketek's website and social media pages, which contained advertising material and promotions for upcoming events. ACMA chair Nerida O'Loughlin said it was unacceptable that Ticketek has failed to comply with the spam laws despite receiving a warning in 2019. "Australians are fed up with these types of intrusions on their privacy and Ticketek has no excuses given it was on notice after our previous action," she said. "It is also incredibly frustrating for people to take the time to unsubscribe only for those requests to not be actioned. Businesses must have working systems in place to comply with consumer choice and consent. "We have seen several companies with similar failures over the last 12 months. All businesses conducting e-marketing should be actively and regularly reviewing whether their marketing complies with the law." Under the ruling Ticketek will have an independent consultant appointed to ensure its advertising policies are compliant. ACMA has issues more than $10 million in fines in the last 18 months to companies including CommBank, DoorDash and MyCar Tyre and Auto. A Ticketek spokesperson said the company was surprised by the finding. "We were surprised to learn that ACMA considers that customer consent is required even to send messages which Ticketek considers have the primary purpose of notifying customers of important event information, if those messages contain ... link[s] to pages containing promotional material". "We anticipate that many other businesses may not be aware that in ACMA's view these inclusions fall foul of the Act. "We will continue to review our systems, procedures, and training relating to our compliance with the Spam Act to ensure that this does not happen again," the spokesperson said. IN OTHER NEWS:
