Samsung Electronics plans to take legal action against a fine of approximately 20 billion won (about $17 million) imposed by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for unfair advertising practices related to its Game Optimizing Service (GOS) on Galaxy smartphones. The company asserts that GOS is not a feature that artificially lowers device performance but rather an optimization technology aimed at enhancing the gaming experience.
In a statement on October 27, Samsung said, "It is difficult to understand this decision, especially since all lawsuits both domestically and internationally have been concluded and the participants have withdrawn their complaints to the FTC. We will actively clarify our position through legal procedures going forward."
Earlier that day, the FTC decided to sanction Samsung for failing to adequately disclose performance limitations associated with GOS when advertising the Galaxy S21, S22 series, and Galaxy Tab S8, citing violations of the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act. The provisional fine is set at 20 billion won.
GOS is a feature that adjusts the operating performance of the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) to manage heat generation and power consumption while running games on smartphones. Samsung mandated this feature in devices released from January 2021 to March 2022, making it non-removable by users.
Following controversy over performance limitations during gaming, Samsung lifted the maximum operating speed restrictions on the CPU and GPU through a software update in March 2022. Some consumers subsequently filed lawsuits, claiming that Samsung misled them by advertising the devices as providing maximum performance without adequately disclosing the performance limitations.
Samsung contends that the FTC's ruling does not accurately reflect the technical characteristics of GOS and the actual gaming environment. The law firm representing Samsung in the FTC case stated in a separate statement, "GOS is an optimization feature designed to enhance the user's gaming experience. Managing heat and maintaining performance are common challenges faced by all smart device manufacturers."
The firm also refuted the FTC's concerns regarding performance limitations in certain games, explaining that these measures were taken to reduce heat and maintain stable gaming performance by limiting the momentary increase in the application processor's (AP) operating speed in high-heat scenarios.
The firm pointed out that the FTC only mentioned the ratio of the upper limit setting compared to the maximum clock speed of the AP, without clarifying how these settings impacted the actual gaming experience, such as frames per second (FPS).
They emphasized that it is difficult to accept the FTC's judgment that the lack of specific optimization operation methods in advertising constitutes deceptive advertising.
Samsung also noted that other global smartphone manufacturers utilize similar optimization features and that there have been no cases of sanctions or findings of exaggerated advertising by foreign regulatory authorities for this reason. They clarified that the current sanction pertains not to the GOS in use today but to certain settings from four years ago.
The company highlighted that related consumer lawsuits have already been resolved. Eight GOS-related lawsuits in South Korea, the United States, and Israel have all concluded, and the participants have withdrawn their complaints to the FTC.
In a domestic damages lawsuit, the first-instance court acknowledged that Samsung's advertising could mislead consumers but did not recognize liability for damages. The Seoul High Court concluded the case through mandatory mediation in February of this year, with no objections raised by the approximately 1,700 plaintiffs and participants, leading to final confirmation in March.
Samsung plans to review the details of the FTC's decision upon receipt and will clarify that it does not constitute a violation of the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act through litigation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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