Samsung Galaxy Water Resistant Ad Turns Out To Be A Lie, Samsung Fines In Australia

Samsung's water-resistant ads are considered misleading. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Australia's competition regulator announced on Thursday, June 23, that a court ordered the local unit of Samsung Electronics to pay a fine of 14 million Australian dollars (Rp. 143.4 billion) for nine misleading advertisements about the waterproof features in some of its smartphones.

"Samsung Australia admits to misleading buyers of some 'Galaxy' phones about water resistance levels," the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a statement. Regulators first sued the company in July 2019.

Samsung Australia said in a statement that this is not a problem in newer and current models.

The regulator said between March 2016 and October 2018, the company placed advertisements on in-store and social media claiming the phones could be used in swimming pools or seawater.

ACCC, has received hundreds of complaints from users saying that the smartphone does not work properly or even stops working completely after being exposed to water.

“These claims promote an important selling point for this Galaxy phone. Many consumers who bought Galaxy phones may have been exposed to these misleading advertisements before they made the decision to buy a new phone," said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

According to Samsung Australia, it and the ACCC have agreed that the changes the company is making to its newer smartphone models, launched in Australia from March 2018, do not face such a risk from exposure to water.