Consumers’ association starts proceedings on the merits against Samsung for update policy

The Consumers’ Association sent Samsung a summons on Friday. The union is initiating proceedings on the merits because Samsung would not or late provide many of its smartphones with security updates, which would be unlawful.

The Consumers’ Association states in the summons that Samsung is obliged to keep customers’ smartphones safe by offering updates as quickly as possible. According to the union, the fact that the company does not do this leads to unsafe situations. In this way Samsung acts contrary to the due care that may be expected in society.

Also, the company would not inform consumers clearly enough about its update policy. The Consumers’ Association asks the court to order Samsung to release updates within one month of their availability, for a period of four years after the smartphones are launched on the market or two years after the customer purchases them. The association points out that Google is making updates for the versions of Android that have appeared in the past three years. The provision is made via the Android Security Bulletins. However, Samsung would not distribute the updates until months later or not at all.

The proceedings on the merits follow a preliminary injunction at the beginning of this year. That case was not dealt with substantively, because the preliminary relief judge ruled that the Consumers’ Association had not demonstrated that there was an urgent interest. The complaint was therefore rejected. With a final settlement of the dispute, the Consumers’ Association hopes to be able to enforce a better update policy with all Android manufacturers, if the verdict is in its favor. The organization has chosen Samsung because the Korean company is the market leader.

A date for the hearing has not yet been set. The Consumers’ Association has been arguing for a better update policy for smartphones for some time now. In recent years, some serious vulnerabilities have been found in Android, such as the Stagefright bug.