What legal action can be taken against a very careful &quot;snake oil salesman?&quot;
<p>I have a particular product in mind, but more generally if a company sells a product that people are given to expect will perform a certain function (eliminate mosquitoes, for example), is there any action that can be taken when the product is, by design, incapable of performing the expected function (i.e. "Mosquito Eradicator 9000" is just water).</p>

<p>Companies tend to be very careful to make sufficiently vague claims that are TECHNICALLY true, but also induce consumers to expect something that is not true. But surely, there's a feature of modern legal systems that can cut through this kind of double-speak, right? I'm in the US, but I'm thinking this is probably similarly true elsewhere.</p>

<h2>Is it <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/advertising-selling/advertising-and-selling-guide/avoid-misleading-or-deceptive-claims-or-conduct/misleading-or-deceptive-conduct" rel="nofollow noreferrer">misleading or deceptive</a>?</h2>
<p>Most prohibitions of this nature don’t ask whether the statement is true or false, they ask whether it is misleading or deceptive in context. Things that are 100% factually accurate can still be misleading or deceptive.</p>
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<p><strong>Real case study:</strong> An internet company offered ‘unlimited’ download plans for users who signed up to their services. However, the plans were subject to major limitations including speed reductions when a certain amount of data was downloaded. The court found that the use of the term ‘unlimited’ in relation to plans that were subject to major limitations that were not disclosed was misleading and deceptive.  </p>
<p>Case law: <a href="http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCAFC/2012/20.html?stem=0&amp;synonyms=0&amp;query=full%20federal%20court%20optus%20commission%202012" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Full Federal Court - [2012] FCAFC 20</a></p>
<p>Media release: <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/full-federal-court-orders-optus-to-pay-36-million-penalty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Full Federal Court orders internet company to pay $3.6 million penalty</a></p>
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consumer-protection