Court formalises liability findings as eHarmony considers appeal and ACCC pursues penalties
The Federal Court of Australia has declared that eHarmony, Inc contravened multiple provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) through representations about free dating services, subscription prices, automatic renewals, one-month memberships, and cancellation rights.
In Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v eHarmony, Inc (No 2) [2026] FCA 1445, the Federal Court made the declarations after finding in August that eHarmony had breached ss. 18, 29, 34, and 48 of the ACL.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and eHarmony disagreed about whether the court should make declarations at the liability stage. The ACCC sought directions towards the penalty stage and argued that the court should make declarations alongside orders concerning penalties and other relief.
eHarmony instead sought immediate declarations reflecting the liability findings. It also proposed addressing the penalty stage after the period for seeking leave to appeal those declarations had expired.
The Federal Court found that making declarations would formalise the liability judgment, allow eHarmony to seek leave to appeal and identify the contraventions relevant to penalties and other orders.
The declarations include findings that, between November 2019 and March 2024, eHarmony misleadingly represented that Basic members could use its platform free of charge to find and maintain communications with potential romantic partners when users could not “date” other members without upgrading to a paid Premium membership.
The court also declared that eHarmony misrepresented the monthly cost of six-, 12-, and 24-month Premium subscriptions where monthly instalments attracted an additional mandatory $3 fee. From November 2019, it also failed to prominently state the single price for services under each subscription plan.
The Federal Court further declared that eHarmony represented Premium subscriptions as having finite terms of six, 12, or 24 months when subscriptions automatically renewed for 12 months at the regular undiscounted price unless members disabled automatic renewal.
Other declarations concerned representations that consumers could purchase one-month Premium memberships when that option was unavailable, and that consumers could cancel Premium memberships during a subscription period without continuing liability for the balance.
The court said the case involved numerous discrete claims and findings under multiple ACL provisions. eHarmony indicated that it intended to seek leave to appeal some, but not all, aspects of the liability judgment.
The judge found that a potential appeal could produce different outcomes affecting penalties and other relief. The ACCC also indicated that it would seek discovery relevant to that stage, which the court said was likely to be multifaceted and not necessarily quick or straightforward. The court ordered that the proceeding return for a case management hearing no earlier than 28 days after the declarations.
