Sci/Tech Italy: Apple fined $12M for unfair claims about iPhone water resistance

[tom_mai78101]

Italian regulators have fined Apple €10M ($12M) for making misleading and unfair claims about iPhone water resistance.

The Italian antitrust authority found that Apple was guilty of two things, one of them more serious than the other …

The fine was imposed by L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which translates literally as the guarantee authority for competition and the market. This is the competition watchdog responsible for ensuring that companies treat both consumers and competitors fairly.

First, it says, Apple made water resistance claims without making it clear to consumers that these were true only in ideal laboratory conditions, and phones had not passed the same tests in real-life conditions.

The first concerns the marketing of a number of different iPhone models – iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11pro and iPhone 11 pro Max – in which it was claimed that each of the advertised products was water resistant to a maximum depth varying between 4 meters and 1 meter depending on the model. for up to 30 minutes.
According to the Authority, however, the messages did not clarify that these claims were true only in the presence of specific conditions, for example during specific and controlled laboratory tests with the use of static and pure water, and not in normal use of the devices by consumers.

Read more here. (9-to-5 Mac)