Samsung has been taken to task by the Australian government. The company made misleading advertising for its phones.
Smartphones from Samsung can do a lot, but not everything. Yet that doesn’t stop the Korean company from advertising features on devices that it can’t live up to. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (Australian version of the ACM) does not agree. They are now fining the company for a 2019 advertising campaign.
I’m going swimming…
These were several advertisements that were shown both on television and on billboards. The videos, which took place in a swimming pool and at the beach, featured phones in addition to a few people swimming. Seven different models could remain underwater for 30 minutes to a depth of one and a half meters.
The water resistance is not the problem of the Samsung phones, the way of advertising is not good according to the watchdog. In fact, the advertising has everything to do with the water. The water resistance is claimed on the basis of normal water that comes from the tap, for example. That is different from water from the sea or a swimming pool. In the sea the water is salty, while a swimming pool contains chlorine.
Swimming with Samsung (Image: Samsung)
A false claim by Samsung
Both salt and chlorine are not good for the smartphone. These materials can cause the phone’s connectors to rust and then become damaged. So the phone is waterproof, but still not quite considering the damage it can cause.
Samsung has now reached a settlement with the Australian watchdog. It now has to fork over $14 million because of its misleading advertising campaign. The ACCC says the following about the fine: “This penalty is stern reminder to companies that product claims must contain the truth. The ACCC continues its fight against companies that mislead consumers with product claims.”
