The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has fined Samsung $14 million for misleading claims about its Galaxy smartphones. The fine relates to a 2019 investigation of Samsung after it released several ads for various Galaxy smartphones.

The main thrust of the ads was that the phones were water-resistant when in water for up to 30 minutes. Samsung also depicted in the adverts the Galaxy phones being dipped in swimming pools or getting splashes on the beach.

The ads were aired on national TV in Australia and the consumer watchdog took Samsung to task for some of these ads. Samsung inherently gave a false notion of the water-resistance capability of the models. These smartphones were only water-resistant in fresh water, not seawater or chlorinated water. The charging port was prone to corrosion under such circumstances.

Samsung has now agreed to pay the fine of $14 million to ACCC for the misleading claims. It has also made software and hardware changes to its phones to provide a more realistic claim of water resistance. This information was relayed by ACCC’s chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb. The ACCC chairperson says that the penalty is a strong reminder to all businesses that all product claims must be substantiated. The watchdog says it will continue to take enforcement actions against erring businesses in this regard.

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