11 November 2020, Budapest – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has accepted the commitment of LG Electronics Magyar Kft. (LG) according to which the undertaking will voluntarily amend its communication regarding the water, dust and impact resistance of its mobile phones.
The proceeding of the Competition Authority was initiated to investigate whether the Hungarian language website of LG provided adequate information to consumers regarding the resistance of its mobile phones to water, dust and impact. The website, among others, advertised certain mobile phone models as ‘a design with water, dust, and worry resistance that meets the military standards’ and ‘optimised for military-grade durability’. These claims were based on tests relating to different international standards (IP68; MIL STD-810G); however, consumers did not receive more specific information about what this actually means with regard to the use of the phone. Consumers would only be confronted with the fact that these promised characteristics were only guaranteed under test conditions once they read the guarantee terms, i.e. typically after having purchased the product, meaning that consumers lose the warranty for their phones if they expose it to a ‘too dusty or humid environment’ or take it swimming.
The Competition Authority accepted the voluntarily commitment of the undertaking to correct the arising competition problems. On the basis of these, the undertaking will amend the information provided on its website, the user manuals and guarantee documents of the affected mobile phones in connection with water, dust and impact resistance. In the future, consumers will be provided with easy-to-understand and balanced information on the essence of the standards and tests referred to and on how LG devices comply with them and what this actually means with regard to practical usage. In the future, the undertaking will expect its contractual partners distributing its products to provide information in accordance with the above.
The official registration number of the case is: VJ/38/2019.
GVH Press Office