Samsung to pay USD 9.6 million over misleading water resistant claims

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Samsung Electronics Australia Pty Ltd (Samsung Australia) to pay AUD 14 million (about USD 9.6PHP 563INR 814EUR 9CNY 70 million) in penalties after the company admitted misleading consumers on water resistance claims of about 3.1 million Samsung smartphones sold in the region.

Image/ Australia Competition and Consumer Commission | Samsung Australia

The Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a statement says the company ran a series of marketing ads between 2016 and 2018 where their smartphones are represented suitable to use in pool and sea water.

Water resistant claims included the following Samsung Galaxy phones: S7, S7 Edge, A5 (2017), A7 (2017), S8, S8 Plus and Note 8. All these models had IP68 rating—which means they can supposedly be fully submerged in water up to 30 minutes, as deep as 1.5 meters. But the caveat was it only applies against freshwater, not to saltwater nor chlorinated pool.

The ACCC labeled these ads implying water resistance as misleading.

“We reviewed hundreds of complaints from consumers who reported they experienced issues with their Galaxy phones after it was exposed to water and, in many cases, they reported their Galaxy phone stopped working entirely,” said ACCC’s chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

Samsung Australia has acknowledged the phones’ weak link on the charging port. If the Galaxy phone was submerged in pool or sea water, corrosion may occur on the port when charged right away while it’s still wet.

Image/ Australia Competition and Consumer Commission | Samsung Australia

ACCC on their statement also cited receipts of the said misleading Samsung marketing ads.

While this might be a slight jab for Samsung, this serves a gentle reminder to consumers to be more critical on what they see from ads, and other content.