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Italian regulators have fined Apple 10 million euros ($ 12 million) for making deceptive and unfair claims about the water resistance of the iPhone.
The Italian antitrust authority ruled that Apple was guilty of two things, one more serious than the other …
The fine was imposed by L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which literally translates into the competition and market guarantee authority. It is the competition watchdog tasked with ensuring that companies treat both consumers and competitors fairly.
First, Apple made water resistance claims without making it clear to consumers that this was only true under ideal laboratory conditions, and that the phones had not passed the same tests in real conditions.
The first involves 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 has been asserted that each of the products advertised were waterproof to a maximum depth varying between 4 meters and 1 meter depending on the model. up to 30 minutes.
According to the Authority, however, the messages did not specify that these claims were only true 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 the normal use of the devices by consumers.
Second, and more seriously, Apple made claims about the iPhone’s water resistance in its marketing, but then denied warranty service on phones that had suffered water damage.
In addition, the “Warranty does not cover liquid damage” disclaimer, given the emphatic advertising boast of water resistance, was considered likely to mislead consumers by not specifying what type of warranty it referred to (conventional warranty or legal warranty), was it deemed capable of adequately contextualizing the conditions and limits of water resistance claims.
The antitrust also found it appropriate to take into account Apple’s refusal in the aftermarket phase to honor warranties when these iPhone models were damaged by water or other liquids, depriving thus consumers of the rights that they should expect from the guarantee or from the Consumer Code.
Apple adapts iPhones with internal indicators that show when water has entered the device. It is Apple’s policy to refuse warranty repair or replacement when this flag is enabled. This means that buyers are told one thing when they buy the phone, but another thing when they need after-sales service.
Apple was fined ten million euros and further ordered to publish a notice on its Italian website via a “Consumer Protection Information” link.
This potentially paves the way for similar decisions in other countries in the European Union and could potentially lead to class actions in the United States and elsewhere, now that the issue has been highlighted.
SetteBIT notes that the decision refers to three Apple advertisements. Apple tends to remove old ads from its YouTube channel, but the site archives its own copies, providing proof of the claims initially made.
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