Italy fined Apple 10 million euros for misleading advertising about the water-resistance of the iPhone. The National Competition Authority (AGCM) discovered that Apple’s claims did not hold up in reality.
Specifically, the Cupertino giant is accused of conducting misleading advertising around the water-resistance of its smartphones, after highlighting this ability of its devices for years in numerous advertising campaigns. In reality, iPhones are water-resistant, only they did not clarify that they do so under certain circumstances, such as with pure water in laboratory conditions.
The advertisement in question promised that iPhones were waterproof to a depth of up to 4 meters for 30 minutes. Aggravation of this was that the company, in addition to arguing that its phones were not covered by the warranty in case of liquid damage, also refused to offer support when iPhones suffered this type of damage.
The Italian authority ruled that the lack of warranty coverage for water damage violated articles 24 and 25 of the consumer code on aggressive commercial practices and coercion or undue influence
This demand covers from iPhone 8 to iPhone 11, including all its variants. Already from the iPhone 7 that Apple refused to cover the warranty of its phones damaged by water or any other liquid. For its part, the company did not comment on the matter.
