The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently announced that it considers terms such as "WiFi Ready" or "Wireless LAN Ready" to have potential to mislead consumers and breach the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) when used on certain electronic products, such as TVs and Blu Ray players, which require additional devices to be purchased to provide the WiFi or wireless capability.
Five leading audio visual manufacturers have agreed to include in their promotional materials and on their websites prominent statements such as "USB Wireless LAN adaptor required", "WiFi Capable with Optional Adaptor" or "Wireless LAN Adaptor required, sold separately", where their products require additional devices to be purchased.
What does the ACCC's announcement mean for suppliers of WiFi or Wireless LAN enabled products?
The announcement is particularly relevant for manufacturers and suppliers of WiFi and Wireless LAN enabled devices who should:
- check the functionality of these products and ensure that unqualified claims of "WiFi Ready" or "Wireless LAN Ready" are only made on products with built-in devices, or devices sold or bundled together with the product, which are capable of delivering the WiFi or Wireless LAN capability; and
- call out prominently in all marketing and product labelling where additional devices are required in order for products to have WiFi or Wireless LAN capability.
At a time when more and more content is being supplied over internet enabled devices and the ability to connect through WiFi or wireless networks is assuming increasing importance to consumers, the ACCC's announcement sends a message, not just to manufacturers and suppliers of WiFi or Wireless LAN enabled products, but to anyone making claims about the availability of connection to such networks to take care to ensure that all relevant requirements for connection are specified. As far as the ACCC is concerned, it's not enough to be ready, or even willing, you must also be able.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.