A court in Australia has ordered the local unit of Samsung Electronics to pay about $9.7 million as penalty over misleading claims about a water-resistance feature in some of its smartphones.
According to Reuters report, quoting the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), Samsung Australia admitted to misleading buyers about the water-resistance level of some of its ‘Galaxy’ phones.
The regulator, that initially sued the company in July 2019, said that between March 2016 and October 2018, the company ran in-store and social media advertisements that claimed the phones could be used in pools or sea water.
According to the rep[ort, ACCC has received hundreds of complaints from users saying the smartphones did not function properly or even stopped working entirely after being exposed to water.
“The claims promoted an important selling point for these Galaxy phones. Many consumers who purchased a Galaxy phone may have been exposed to the misleading ads before they made their decision to purchase a new phone,” ACCC Chairperson, Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
Comment here