CET | News / telecompaper.com, 24 October 2018
Italian antitrust watchdog AGCM has fined Apple and Samsung EUR 10 million and EUR 5 million respectively for unfair commercial practices following a 10-month investigation into allegations of planned obsolescence of their devices. In a statement, the antitrust body said it ascertained that the two smartphone makers “induced consumers… to install software updates that are not adequately supported by their devices without adequately informing them, nor providing them an effective way to recover the full functionality of their devices.”
The practice breached articles 20, 21, 22 and 24 of Italy’s Consumer Code in that the companies failed to inform consumers of the serious malfunctions that the new firmware could cause due to the greater stress placed on the device's hardware and the high repair cost of out-of-warranty repairs connected to such malfunctions, added the regulator.
Specifically, the authority claimed that Samsung “insistently suggested” to owners of its Note 4 smartphone (launched in September 2014) that they should install the new Marshmallow version of Android intended for the more recent Note 7. Apple, meanwhile, also “insistently suggested” that iPhone 6 owners should install iOS 10, which AGCM said was designed for the iPhone 7, “without warning consumers that its installation could reduce the speed of execution and functionality of devices”.
AGCM said Apple was fined twice as much as Samsung due to its two contested practices, having also failed to adequately inform consumers about some essential characteristics of lithium batteries, such as their average duration and deterioration factors, or about the correct procedures to maintain and replace them. In addition, the authority ordered the smartphone makers to publish an amending declaration on their local websites with a link to the decision.
The ruling comes after Apple last year admitted that it artificially limits the processing power of iPhones carrying old batteries via software updates, leading to US class action lawsuits and investigations by anti-fraud and consumer protection agencies in the US, France and Spain, among other countries.
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/italy-fines-apple-and-samsung-eur-15-mln-over-planned-obsolescence--1266292
The practice breached articles 20, 21, 22 and 24 of Italy’s Consumer Code in that the companies failed to inform consumers of the serious malfunctions that the new firmware could cause due to the greater stress placed on the device's hardware and the high repair cost of out-of-warranty repairs connected to such malfunctions, added the regulator.
Specifically, the authority claimed that Samsung “insistently suggested” to owners of its Note 4 smartphone (launched in September 2014) that they should install the new Marshmallow version of Android intended for the more recent Note 7. Apple, meanwhile, also “insistently suggested” that iPhone 6 owners should install iOS 10, which AGCM said was designed for the iPhone 7, “without warning consumers that its installation could reduce the speed of execution and functionality of devices”.
AGCM said Apple was fined twice as much as Samsung due to its two contested practices, having also failed to adequately inform consumers about some essential characteristics of lithium batteries, such as their average duration and deterioration factors, or about the correct procedures to maintain and replace them. In addition, the authority ordered the smartphone makers to publish an amending declaration on their local websites with a link to the decision.
The ruling comes after Apple last year admitted that it artificially limits the processing power of iPhones carrying old batteries via software updates, leading to US class action lawsuits and investigations by anti-fraud and consumer protection agencies in the US, France and Spain, among other countries.
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/italy-fines-apple-and-samsung-eur-15-mln-over-planned-obsolescence--1266292
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