Australia fines Samsung for misleading waterproof phone advertising

Samsung is fined approximately nine million euros in Australia for misleading advertising for its phones. The advertisements showed the phones working in the sea and in swimming pools, but according to the manufacturer, the phones are not suitable for that.

Samsung advertised on social media for the Galaxy S7 phones and Galaxy Note 8, among others, says the consumer authority Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Those phones have an IP rating for water resistance, but aren’t usable in the sea or swimming pools, according to Samsung’s small print. This poses a risk to the charging port, especially if users try to charge the phone while it is still wet.

The ads ran from March 2016 to October 2018, the organization says. The ACCC already filed a complaint about the advertisements three years ago. The Australian federal court ruled in favor of the ACCC and imposed a fine of 14 million Australian dollars, currently about 9.2 million euros.

One of the advertisements shows, among other things, someone using a device while sitting underwater, another advertisement talks about, among other things, ‘recording your surfing session at sea’. Samsung makes its devices waterproof by using glue between the front, edge and back and by covering points where water can enter, such as the SIM slot and the USB port, with a rubber edge. There is no guarantee. Samsung has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Five years ago, Sony refunded customers of Xperia smartphones with water damage as part of a settlement in a US class action case. In the past, Sony advertised the operation of some smartphones under water, but in 2015 advised not to use ‘waterproof’ Xperia devices underwater, even if this was possible according to the IP68 certificate.