Italian tribunal upholds €10 million fine for HP, mandates clearer consumer disclosures on printer cartridge compatibility.

In addition to the tribunal’s decision in Italy, Hewlett-Packard (HP) finds itself in further legal turmoil as it faces allegations and potential investigations into anticompetitive practices in the United States. The Recycler reports that these allegations assert that HP has been deploying firmware updates that intentionally block the use of non-HP ink cartridges, sparking significant consumer dissatisfaction and scrutiny by legal entities.

The crux of the issue lies in HP’s “dynamic security” feature, which ostensibly ensures that printers operate with original HP ink to maintain quality. However, critics and users argue that HP’s firmware updates, which have been applied since 2016 without prior user notification, effectively enforce the use of HP’s own more expensive ink cartridges by outright refusing to print with third-party options.

Article Source:therecycler