Samsung unit ordered to pay $14 mn penalty for misleading phone claims

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Samsung unit ordered to pay $14 mn penalty for misleading phone claims

Australia's competition regulators said that the local unit of Samsung Electronics has to pay a penalty of A $14 million $9.65 million over misleading claims about a water-resistance feature in some of its phones.

The Australian Competition Consumer Commission ACCC said that Samsung Australia admitted to misleading buyers of some of its 'Galaxy' phones about the water-resistance level. The regulators first sued the company in July 2019.

The regulators said between March 2016 and October 2018 the company ran in-store and social media ads that claimed the phones could be used in pools or sea water.

The ACCC received hundreds of complaints from users saying the phones did not function properly or even stopped working completely after being exposed to water.

The claims promoted an important selling point for these Galaxy phones. Many consumers who bought a Galaxy phone may have been exposed to the misleading ads before they made their decision to purchase a new phone, said Gina Cass-Gottlieb, chair of the ACCC.