Amp Me to pay penalty to address Competition Bureau concerns over misleading advertising
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - The Competition Bureau has reached an agreement with Montreal-based company Amp Me Inc. which offers a mobile application in Canada and the U.S. that synchronizes multiple devices to amplify the sound of music. This agreement addresses the Bureau's concerns about false or misleading claims made to the public regarding the free nature of the application and the purchase of positive reviews.
A Bureau investigation revealed that Amp Me allegedly purchased positive reviews from third parties between 2019 and 2022 to promote its mobile application. The Bureau concluded that these reviews created a false or misleading general impression among the public. They also influenced the application's ranking and overall rating on Apple's App Store in the United States.
The Bureau also established that some claims made outside of Québec gave the impression that the application was available free of charge when it was a limited free trial. For example, to promote its use, some claims on social media, using text and videos, described the mobile application as being completely free.
As part of this settlement, the Bureau considered Amp Me's limited ability to pay a penalty in determining the conditions of the agreement. Amp Me has agreed to the following conditions:
-- pay a partial penalty of $310,000 upon signing the agreement, in
satisfaction of the imposed penalty of $1,500,000. The Bureau reserves
the right to lift the suspension if it turns out that Amp Me's financial
statements were inaccurate or incomplete;
-- pay an additional $40,000 for the costs of the Bureau's investigation;
-- commit to have their marketing practices comply with the Competition
Act;
-- establish and maintain a corporate compliance program to promote
compliance with the law.
"Canadians need to trust that they can rely on online prices and reviews to make informed purchasing decisions. The Bureau does not tolerate businesses that mislead consumers and thereby harm competition in the marketplace."
Matthew Boswell,
Commissioner of Competition
-- The agreement registered with the Competition Tribunal has the force of
a court order and is binding for a period of 10 years.
-- The Bureau's agreement to partially suspend a penalty is based on the
truthfulness and accuracy of the financial statements provided by the
company when negotiating an agreement, and also that they contain no
material omissions. If there is evidence that a company has not been
truthful about its finances, the suspension of full payment of the
penalty may be lifted at any time while the consent agreement is in
effect.
-- The deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Act
forbid companies from making false or misleading claims about a product
or service to promote their business interests.
-- We encourage all Canadians to report suspected deceptive marketing
practices by using the Competition Bureau's online complaint form.
-- Registered consent agreement between the Competition Bureau and Amp Me
Inc.
-- Consumer Alert: Five-star fake out
-- The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest - Volume 1: Online advertising,
warnings and online reviews
-- The Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest - Volume 2: Consent agreements
Request for information | Complaint form
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The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses. Competition drives lower prices and innovation while fueling economic growth.
SOURCE Competition Bureau
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