Australia and New Zealand · Marketing and promotions
The TV Shop penalty puts manipulated ‘customer’ reviews in focus
The New Zealand District Court ordered The TV Shop to pay NZ$1.104 million for a range of Fair Trading Act offending, including deliberate and systematic review manipulation. In Australia, PhotobookShop paid $39,600 after infringement notices over alleged undisclosed and substantively edited influencer reviews; payment was not an admission.
Recent cases
Separate the outcome from the allegation.
- New Zealand: the District Court penalty covered a range of Fair Trading Act offending. The review conduct included staff posting positive reviews without disclosing their affiliation, some reviews by employees who had not used the product, requests for friends and family to leave reviews, and systematic filtering of low-rating reviews.
- Australia: the ACCC issued PhotobookShop with two infringement notices over alleged conduct involving an undisclosed commissioned influencer review and a substantive edit that removed negative comments. PhotobookShop paid $39,600; payment of an infringement-notice penalty is not an admission of contravention.
What this means
Understand the practical effect.
The New Zealand District Court ordered The TV Shop to pay NZ$1.104 million for a range of Fair Trading Act offending, including deliberate and systematic review manipulation. In Australia, PhotobookShop paid $39,600 after infringement notices over alleged undisclosed and substantively edited influencer reviews; payment was not an admission.
What to do
Turn the update into action.
Treat every review as a marketing representation: verify the reviewer’s genuine experience, disclose material relationships and incentives, and do not edit, suppress or gate genuine feedback in a way that creates a misleading overall impression.
- Do not ask employees, family, friends or paid creators to pose as independent customers. Require clear, prominent disclosure of any material connection.
- Confirm that a reviewer actually used or experienced the product or service represented in the review.
- Do not script, rewrite or substantively edit a review so that its overall impression becomes more favourable.
- Use a documented, content-neutral moderation policy. Do not selectively gate, delay or suppress genuine low-rating reviews to improve the displayed rating.
- Keep campaign briefs, consent and incentive records, original and final review content, moderation decisions and approval evidence.
Official sources
Check the controlling material.
Practical support
Apply this update to your business.
Confirm the products, customer journeys, claims, suppliers or processes affected, then identify the evidence, ownership and timing needed for a defensible response.
Watchdog can assess the update against your circumstances and recommend the most useful next step.
Important information
Check the current position.
This update is general information, not legal advice. Laws, official guidance and proceedings can change. Check the current source and your specific facts before acting.