Online dating site fined by Italian competition authority

(AGI) Rome, July 22 - Online dating site eDates has been fined 350,000 euros for unfair trade practices by Italy's Competition Authority. Action was taken against eDates' Italian website, which is managed by German company Be Beauty BmbH, after reported violations of Italy's Consumer Protection code from numerous users and the consumer organisations Codacons and Nero su Bianco. In separate cases, the authority ordered companies Interdate and Meetic to fulfill a number of obligations for their websites, C-date.it and Meetic.it. The websites were called on to change their subscription and automatic renewal conditions and make it easier for users to unsubscribe to ensure greater transparency. EDates was fined 125,000 euros for misleading and omissive practices, 175,000 euros for aggressive commercial practices, and 50,000 euros for violating laws on consumer rights, after it provided misleading information on the conditions of its advertised services. Users who registered on the site for free or chose a two-week trial for 4.90 euros later found themselves bound by a six-month premium subscription for 19 euros a week, or 76 euros a month, bringing the overall price to around 500 euros. The authority also found that eDates undermined consumers' ability to exercise their rights, as the site made it difficult to access information needed to cancel subscriptions or terminate contracts correctly and on time. The site's aggressive practices were also established on the grounds that the operator repeatedly sent users demands for payment, often warning them that it would otherwise refer them to debt collection agencies. In numerous instances, the operator made direct withdrawals from credit cards that users provided upon registration. In the separate lawsuits, Interdate has undertaken to specify which of its services are free and which aren't when users use its C-date.it website, and also clearly inform users of all conditions. Meetic.it undertook to eliminate obstacles to its cancellation. In both cases, the Competition Authority decided that the measures were sufficient to rectify the companies' potentially unlawful practices. (AGI). .