AIRLINE FINED FOR INTERNET AD
By Adnews Staff
In what may prove to be a landmark event, a company has been fined for misleading advertising on the World Wide Web. The U.S. Department of Transport imposed a $14,000(US) penalty on Virgin Atlantic Airways. The British carrier says the incident arose out of an administrative error; it failed to update information on its Web page when it hiked fares earlier this year. A consumer complained after trying to book a ticket at the price shown on the Web site and being told the price had gone up because the season had changed from off-peak to peak. The airline has agreed to pay the fine but says the authorities accept that the error was a genuine mistake. Concerned parties are now grappling with legal issues related to the Internet which is largely unregulated - some might say anarchistic. Businesses and governments are looking for answers to questions of jurisdiction, copyright, libel and acceptable advertising.