A major Australian eyewear brand sent customers email without unsubscribe functions and continued to send communications to customers who had unsubscribed from other content.
Luxottica, owner of the OPSM, Oakley and Sunglass Hut brands, was fined $1,512,500 for spamming customers with more than 200,000 marketing messages — in breach of Australian spam laws.
Luxottica sent 91,231 marketing emails without a functional unsubscribe feature to customers between November 2022 and May 2023, an Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found.
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During that same period, Luxottica sent 112,348 texts and emails to customers who had previously unsubscribed from these communications.
It was particularly egregious to keep spamming customers after they had gone to the effort to unsubscribe, Authority Member Samantha Yorke said.
“Businesses must keep up their side of the bargain and stop sending these messages when customers ask them to,” Yorke said.
Approximately half of the emails sent without the option to unsubscribe were order confirmations and password reset messages that also included or linked to clearly commercial content, such as how to view and purchase Oakley products and a free shipping promotion.
“Once emails include this kind of marketing content they are commercial under the spam rules and must include the option to unsubscribe from further messages,” Yorke said.
“It is unacceptable to include advertising or promotional material if a customer has no way to opt out of receiving these messages.”
Luxottica will also appoint an independent consultant to review its compliance with the spam rules and make improvements where needed.
This is court-enforceable and Luxottica must report regularly to ACMA.
Luxottica’s fine comes after Uber, Outdoor Supacentre, Kmart and other companies were found to have breached the spam unsubscribe laws.
Over the last 18 months, businesses have paid more than $12.7 million in spam and telemarketing penalties.
“We strongly urge all companies engaging in e-marketing in Australia to check their compliance systems are working and effective to prevent spamming consumers,” Yorke said.
Consumers can make a complaint about spam through ACMA’s website.