The Italian Competition Authority has fined Apple €10 million (roughly $15 million CAD) over misleading iPhone water resistance claims.
The anti-trust fine says that Apple not covering water damage on its phones while advertising them as waterproof for 30-minutes at a depth of four feet was misleading to consumers. This fine dates all the way back to the iPhone 8 series in 2017, according to Reuters.
The major grievance around this waterproofing claim is that it only applies in certain instances, like in a lab with clean and clear water. This would mean that Apple marketed the phones as waterproof when, in reality, it knew they weren’t perfectly sealed and could result in damage.
It’s unlikely that Apple will take much notice of a fine like this since its hands are full with App Store related anti-trust suits. However, last time it got fined in Italy over battery life and throttling concerns, it blew up into a larger issue. ‘Batterygate’ even paid out hundreds of millions to U.S. consumers after a multi-year lawsuit, reports The Verge.
It’s hard to tell if this Italian fine will result in more countries getting their due from Apple or if this is an isolated incident. Still, more countries’ regulators are starting to look critically at tech giants, which is typically a good thing for consumers.
