The Italian Competition Authority, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato or AGCM, has fined Apple €10 million for making misleading claims about the waterproofing of its iPhones, Reuters reports.
The authority said the company did not make it clear that this feature exists under certain specific conditions, notably in laboratory tests with static and pure water, and not under normal conditions of use.
The authority also rapped Apple for a disclaimer that the warranty for the smartphones did not cover damage caused by liquids, saying it was deemed to mislead consumers.
It said Apple’s refusal to provide warranty service when the iPhone models concerned were damaged by liquids amounted to an aggressive commercial practice.
“For these reasons, the authority has decided to impose penalties totalling 10 million euros on Apple Distribution International and on Apple Italia,” it said.
It claims are related to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11pro and iPhone 11 pro Max models.
