Smart gadgets’ failure to commit to software support could be illegal, FTC warns
Summary
Makers of smart devices that fail to disclose how long they will support their products with software updates may be breaking the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned this week. Contrastingly, 11.4 percent of devices examined shared a software support duration or end date on their product page. In addition to manufacturers often neglecting to commit to software support for a specified amount of time, it seems that even when they share this information, its elusive. But through the link that AI Overviews provided, the FTC found that the three to six months figure that Google scraped actually referred to the devices battery life. The next day, AI Overviews said that it couldnt determine the duration of software support or updates for the gadget, the FTC noted.