China Mobile sued for iPhone 6s ads

 

 

China’s largest carrier removed the advertising slogan of iPhone’s new flagship models from its official website, after being sued for violating the country’s new advertising law.

Apple’s slogan for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, “The only thing that’s changed is everything”, has disappeared from China Mobile’s official website following a recently filed lawsuit against the telco, claiming it is in violation of China’s newly enforced advertising law.

The lawyer of the case, surnamed He, also demanded compensation of 20,574 yuan ($3,224) in the lawsuit, according to a Sina News report on Wednesday.

China Mobile pulled the slogan from its website after a Chinese court accepted to proceed with the case, although the slogan remains on Apple’s official Chinese online store.

Taking effect on September 1, 2015, the new law prohibits companies to adopt superlative adjectives in promotions, such as “the most” and “the best”. Article 28 also stipulates that false or misleading content that deceives consumers constitutes false advertising.

A penalty starting at 200,000 yuan will be imposed for violations.

The lawyer He argued that both the words “only” and “everything” in the seven-word-long slogan violated the new regulation and, as a consumer, he is entitled to reparation. He added that he will file to place Apple Inc as a co-defendant later in the case. Both China Mobile and Apple are yet to respond to the allegation, according to the report.

Apple is not the first technology firm sued for false advertising. In September, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi was investigated by the Beijing Ministry of Industry and Commerce for using superlative words in describing its product range.

Xiaomi was reported by the CEO of another Chinese smartphone brand Cong, who claimed descriptions in Xiaomi’s ads such as “king of screen”, “world-class”, and “the lowest” breached the new law.

Some Chinese reports said the number of advertisements that would violate the new law reduced by almost 80 percent in China in August, ahead of its enforcement.