Italian Competition Authority- AGCM has fined Apple, Samsung for $5.7 mn each for carrying out unfair commercial practices in violation of Consumer Code in release of some firmware updates for their mobile phones.

These software updates caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced the performance of their phones, and speeding up their replacement with more recent products.

The two companies have induced consumers by insistently proposing to proceed with download and also because of significant information asymmetry of consumers vis-a-vis producers – to install software updates that are not adequately supported by their devices, without adequately informing them, nor providing them an effective way to recover full functionality of their devices.

The AGCM has also ascertained that Apple has failed to adequately inform its consumers about the correct procedures to maintain, verify and replace batteries to preserve full functionality of devices.

For more: http://en.agcm.it/en/media/detail?id=385e274c-8dc3-4911-9b8c-9771c854193a&parent=Press%20Releases&parentUrl=/en/media/press-releases