An Australian judge fined Samsung 14 million Australian dollars (more than 9 million euros) on Thursday, a regulator reported. According to the watchdog, the South Korean manufacturer has made “misleading statements” about the water resistance of the smartphones.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued the company in July 2019. According to the regulator, Samsung has admitted that it misled buyers of some of the Galaxy phones about the water resistance level.
The watchdog says that between March 2016 and October 2018, Samsung claimed in advertisements in stores and on social media that the phones could be used in swimming pools and in the sea.
However, the ACCC received hundreds of complaints from users claiming that the smartphones malfunctioned or even stopped working after exposure to water.
The regulator says the claim that the smartphones were water resistant was a “major selling point” for the Galaxy phones. “Many consumers may have been exposed to the deceptive ads before deciding to buy a new phone,” the ACC said. Samsung has not yet responded to the fine.