Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has been hit with a $7.5 million fine for breaching Australia’s spam laws. This is the second time in 18 months the major bank has come under fire from the communications watchdog.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found CBA sent 170 million marketing emails to customers between November 2022 and April 2024 that did not include a way to unsubscribe. A total of 34.8 million messages were sent to people who had either not consented or withdrawn their consent.
CBA has copped more than $11 million in fines over the last 18 months from communications authority over breaches of spam laws. In May 2023, the big bank was made to pay $3.55 million for sending some 65 million emails without the unsubscribe option.
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ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the further breaches and the scale of CBA’s non-compliance with the spam act was “unacceptable”.
“Australians are sick and tired of this kind of spam intruding on their privacy and it’s clear CBA did not have its systems in order,” O’Loughlin said.
“The rules are clear, if a message includes marketing content or direct links to marketing content, it is a commercial message and must give people the option to unsubscribe.”
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ACMA found CBA’s messages either promoted products and services, including for insurance, credit and loan offerings, or the bank itself.
A CBA spokesperson said the bank apologised for sending non-compliant messages to customers and had co-operated fully with the watchdog’s investigation.
“Timely and relevant information for our customers is incredibly important and the way we classify that information to meet our regulatory requirements and customer expectations is an absolute priority,” the spokesperson said.
“We are committed to meeting our obligations and we’re dedicating significant time and resources to this.”
Businesses put on notice
O’Loughin said businesses were on notice to check how they classified messages as commercial or non-commercial, with many getting the rules wrong.
“We have seen several companies get this wrong and businesses are on notice to check how they are classifying messages as commercial or non-commercial,” she said.
Over the last 18 months, businesses have paid more than $20 million in spam penalties. That includes Kmart who was fined $1.3 million in November 2023, DoorDash who was fined $2 million in August 2023.
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