Pizza Hut Australia hit with over $2.5 million penalty for spam marketing messages
Pizza Hut Australia has been hit with an over $2.5 million penalty for spam.
On Thursday morning, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced that Pizza Pan Group – trading as Pizza Hut Australia – has paid a penalty of $2,502,500 for sending over 10 million marketing messages across a four month period; a breach of Australian spam laws.
An ACMA investigation found that 5,941,109 texts and emails were sent from January to May last year to customers who either had not consented or had withdrawn their consent to receive marketing.
“Some of the customers involved had attempted to unsubscribe several times and received multiple messages after trying to stop them,” authority member Samantha Yorke said.
“The public expects more from businesses who are using their data. They have a right not to be sent marketing messages if they haven’t consented or have chosen to unsubscribe.”
“The spam rules have been in place for over 20 years and there is simply no excuse for failing to uphold the rights of consumers. It is particularly disappointing when well-known businesses with large customer bases fail to meet their obligations in the way Pizza Hut has.”
Pizza Hut Australia has committed to a three-year court-enforceable undertaking to appoint an independent consultant to review its compliance and must also regularly report to ACMA.
The penalty is the latest in a number of enforcement actions taken by ACMA against other companies like Ticketek, Uber and Kmart. Over the last 18 months businesses have paid more than $15 million in spam and telemarketing penalties
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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ACMA
Australian Communications and Media Authority
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut Australia
Pizza Pan Group
Samantha Yorke
Dougie, what have you done?!
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