If you advertise your phone as being waterproof, you better mean it in Australia.
A consumer watchdog group there is suing Samsung for what it called misleading or “false claims” about the waterproofing of the Galaxy smartphone.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) argues that Samsung has shown the Galaxy in conditions that it simply can’t handle such as in pools and in the ocean. This has gone on since 2016 and the ACCC wants it to stop.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in an official statement, “The ACCC alleges Samsung’s advertisements falsely and misleadingly represented Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or for exposure to, all types of water, including in ocean water and swimming pools, and would not be affected by such exposure to water for the life of the phone, when this was not the case.”
And just in case you thought this was just a few examples here and there, the ACCC submitted some 300 examples in advertising of how Samsung has misled consumers about the waterproofing on Galaxy smartphones, The Verge reports.
Sims continues in the official statement from the ACCC, “Samsung’s advertisements, we believe, denied consumers an informed choice and gave Samsung an unfair competitive advantage…Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn’t be to attract customers.”
For their part, Samsung is not backing down from its advertising and plans on fighting the allegations. As Reuters notes, this isn’t the first time the company’s advertising for its Galaxy smartphones has come under scrutiny. Back in 2016 Consumer Reports tested a Galaxy S7 by immersing it in water in light of a commercial showing it being dunked in an aquarium. As you can probably guess, the phone failed the water immersion test and Samsung’s advertising was thus misleading in this regard some allege.
What do you think? We would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
Also check out our other photography news stories by clicking here.
