Apple Fined Rs 88.6 Crore For Misleading iPhone Advertising

Italy has fined Apple Rs 88.6 crore (€10 million) for misleading claims about the water-resistance of the iPhone, according to BBC. The fine was decided after AGCM, the national competition authority, tested the company's claims and found that they failed to hold up in the real world.

Apple iPhones were claimed to stay water-resistant at up to 4 meters deep in 30 minutes. However, AGCM found that claim was only true in pure water in lab conditions. It said the fact that the company’s warranty doesn’t cover water damage in spite of water resistance claims, is an aggressive practice.

The authority ruled that the advertising was misleading. However, as pointed out by BBC, Apple has always advised users not to fully submerge the iPhone underwater.

Apple includes a small print that says the warranty for the iPhone doesn’t cover liquid damage, so the Italian authority rules that this practice broke article 24 and article 25 in the consumer code, covering “coercion or undue influence” and “aggressive commercial practices.”

AGCM objected to the fact that the warranty did not apply to a feature marketed as a key selling point of the phone. It said that print couldn’t be used to circumvent obligations if the phone didn’t perform as advertised.

For each infraction, the authority fined Apple €5 million, resulting in a total of €10 million. Compared with a net income of €274 billion ($330 billion), this fine is a drop in the bucket.

It’s worth noting that this is not the first time Apple’s been fined for its won practices. earlier this year, the tech giant was fined by France an amount of $32 million for the obsolescence of its iPhones.

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