Consumers’ association files summary proceedings against Samsung for Android updates

The Consumers’ Association is going to court for what it considers to be a ‘flawed’ update policy that Samsung uses for its Android phones. The union demands that the manufacturer informs customers better and provides devices with updates within a reasonable period of time.

The Consumers’ Association is going to court because talks with Samsung have come to nothing. The union met with the manufacturer after the consumer organization sent a letter to Samsung at the beginning of December containing the requirements. Bart Combée, director of the Consumers’ Association, sums up the requirements: “When buying a Samsung Android device, consumers are not sufficiently informed about how long they will receive software updates. The Consumers’ Association demands that Samsung provides clear and unambiguous information to customers about this. Samsung also does not provide enough information about critical security vulnerabilities in its Android phones, such as Stagefright.”

Finally, the union demands that Samsung actually send updates to Android devices. According to the organization, this is not happening enough at the moment. A survey halfway through last year found that 82 percent of Samsung phones could not have the most recent Android version after two years.

The union speaks of “unfair trade practices” by the South Korean group, but emphasizes that many smartphone manufacturers lack the update policy. The arrows are aimed at Samsung as this company is the market leader. According to the NOS, the summary proceedings are due next month.

The move is striking because Samsung announced major changes to its update policy for Android phones last year. Among other things, the manufacturer promised to provide the devices with monthly security updates and Samsung is now publishing detailed information per device about security updates and the duration of software support.