The Federal Court has imposed a $3 million fine on Meriton for misleading/deceptive conduct, shown by them trying to ‘frustrate’ adverse reviews on ‘Tripadvisor’ about their serviced apartments . Its management were found to have directed staff to ‘mask’ email addresses of negative reviewers-as distinct from positive reviews- to stop them being verified and then published by Tripadvisor.

The penalty reflects the growing importance of independent review sites to influence consumer choices and the need for such information to be complete and genuine.