Apple Facing Lawsuit In Australia Over ‘Misleading’ Advertising of iPad 3

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian regulators are taking legal actions to address Apple’s “misleading” advertisements regarding the iPad 3. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that in this case it will pursue fines, injunctions and compensation to users who were misled. The issue was caused by Apple’s use of "4G" in its advertising campaign for the cellular-capable models of the iPad 3, while compatibility with 4G LTE is only offered in Canada and U.S. due to different frequency bands used for LTE networks in different countries.

“The ACCC alleges that Apple's recent promotion of the new "iPad with WiFi + 4G" is misleading because it represents to Australian consumers that the product "iPad with WiFi + 4G" can, with a SIM card, connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia, when this is not the case”.

Apple has included fine print on its website to clarify that LTE compatibility is not offered in most countries, but the ACCC believes that this is insufficient and that Apple should stop using the “4G” term in connection with the new iPad in countries where 4G LTE connectivity is not available.