Australia’s competitors regulator mentioned on Thursday a courtroom has ordered the native unit of Samsung Electronics to pay a penalty of AUD 14 million (roughly 76 crore) over deceptive claims a few water-resistance characteristic in a few of its smartphones.
Samsung Australia admitted to deceptive patrons of a few of its ‘Galaxy’ telephones concerning the water-resistance degree, the Australian Competitors & Client Fee (ACCC) mentioned. The regulator first sued the corporate in July 2019.
The regulator mentioned that between March 2016 and October 2018, the corporate ran in-store and social media ads that claimed the telephones could possibly be utilized in swimming pools or seawater.
The ACCC, nonetheless, obtained tons of of complaints from customers saying the smartphones didn’t perform correctly and even stopped working totally after being uncovered to water.
The claims “promoted an vital promoting level for these Galaxy telephones. Many shoppers who bought a Galaxy telephone might have been uncovered to the deceptive adverts earlier than they made their choice to buy a brand new telephone,” mentioned ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
Samsung didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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