Knowledge branch 02 · Seminars 3-4

Misleading or deceptive conduct

误导或欺骗性行为

ACL s 18

ENGLISH

Section 18 prohibits conduct in trade or commerce that is misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive. Conduct is wider than spoken or written statements and includes images, packaging, silence, negotiations and an overall course of dealing. Intention, honesty and fault are usually irrelevant to contravention.

中文解释

s 18禁止在trade or commerce中实施具有误导性、欺骗性或可能造成误导/欺骗的行为。Conduct不限于口头或书面陈述，还包括图像、包装、沉默、谈判和整体交易过程。是否有欺骗意图、是否诚实或是否存在过错，通常不影响是否违法。

Actual deception is unnecessary for an injunction; individual damages still require loss and causation申请禁令不要求实际有人被骗；个人损害赔偿仍须证明损失及因果关系
Section 18 is broad but is not itself an offence and does not directly attract a pecuniary penaltys 18范围广，但本身不是刑事罪名，也不会直接产生罚款
Confusion is not enough unless the conduct leads the audience into error单纯造成困惑不够，必须使受众陷入错误认识

Method of assessment

判断方法

ENGLISH

Identify the target audience, determine the dominant message conveyed by the conduct, read that message in its full context and ask whether an ordinary or reasonable member of the relevant class would be led into error. Where damages are claimed, ask separately whether the claimant relied on the conduct and suffered loss because of it.

中文解释

先识别目标受众，再确定行为传达的主导信息，并结合完整语境判断相关群体中的普通或合理成员是否会被带入错误。若主张赔偿，还需另行判断原告是否依赖该行为以及损失是否由该行为造成。

Parkdale v Puxu - context and differentiation can prevent deceptionParkdale v Puxu - 语境及产品差异可能避免误导
National Exchange v ASIC - assess the vulnerable target audience, not an abstract sophisticated readerNational Exchange v ASIC - 应按实际脆弱受众判断，而不是假设高度专业读者
ACCC v TPG and Trivago v ACCC - a dominant headline message is not cured by weak fine printACCC v TPG及Trivago v ACCC - 微弱小字通常无法纠正强烈的主导信息

Common forms

常见类型

ENGLISH

Misleading conduct may arise in advertising, pre-contractual statements, sales negotiations, images, packaging, get-up, social media, opinions, statements of law, future matters and the transmission of information supplied by another person. A literal truth can still mislead when it is incomplete or creates a false overall impression.

中文解释

误导行为可能出现在广告、合同前陈述、销售谈判、图像、包装、整体外观、社交媒体、意见、法律陈述、未来事项以及转述他人信息中。即使字面真实，只要信息不完整或整体印象错误，仍可能构成误导。

Silence can mislead where there is a reasonable expectation of disclosure存在合理披露期待时，沉默可能构成误导
Half-truths and later changes in circumstances may require correction半真半假的陈述或情况变化后可能需要补充纠正
Opinion commonly implies genuine belief and a proper basis意见通常隐含陈述人真实相信并具有适当依据
A conduit must make clear that it merely passes on information and does not adopt it单纯转述者必须清楚说明只是传递信息而非采纳或保证其正确
Hidden sponsorship, fake reviews and review gating can mislead online audiences隐瞒赞助、虚假评论及筛选评论可能误导网络受众

Disclaimers and defences

免责声明与抗辩

ENGLISH

A disclaimer is part of the overall context. It can prevent a misleading impression only if it is timely, prominent and genuinely corrective. It may also affect reliance or causation, but a contractual clause cannot simply exclude statutory ACL rights. Limited publisher and information-provider protections require separate analysis.

中文解释

免责声明只是整体语境的一部分。只有在及时、醒目并能真正纠正信息时，才可能避免形成误导印象。它也可能影响依赖或因果关系，但合同条款不能简单排除ACL法定权利。出版者及信息提供者的有限保护需要另行分析。

Demagogue v Ramensky - silence and incomplete disclosureDemagogue v Ramensky - 沉默与不完整披露
Google v ACCC - distinguish publishing from adopting an advertiser's representationGoogle v ACCC - 区分单纯发布与采纳广告商陈述
ACL ss 19 and 251 provide limited media/publisher protectionACL ss 19及251提供有限的媒体/出版者保护