Square, Inc v Brett Assets Pty Ltd

Square, Inc. and Brett Assets Pty Ltd were the parties involved in proceedings before the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned Brett Assets' claim that Square, Inc. had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Brett Assets alleged that Square, Inc. had made representations about the security of its payment processing services, which were false and misleading, leading Brett Assets to suffer loss.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Square, Inc.'s representations regarding the security of its payment processing services constituted misleading or deceptive conduct under the ACL. This required the Court to consider the nature of the representations made, the context in which they were made, and whether a reasonable consumer would have been misled or deceived by them. The Court also had to determine whether Brett Assets had suffered loss or damage as a result of any such conduct.

The Court found that Square, Inc. had made representations that its services were secure and that it took reasonable steps to protect its users' data. However, the Court determined that these representations were not misleading or deceptive. The Court reasoned that the representations were qualified and that a reasonable consumer, in the context of online payment processing, would understand that no system is entirely immune from risk. The Court applied the principles established in cases concerning misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on the overall impression conveyed by the representations to the target audience. The Court concluded that Brett Assets had not established that the representations were misleading or deceptive, nor that it had suffered loss as a consequence of any conduct by Square, Inc.

Consequently, the Court ordered that Brett Assets' claim be dismissed.