Nothing wrong with shipping slow SMR drives, the issue is, it was never explicitly disclosed to the customers/end users. It's not that simple. Even it the lett

Nothing wrong with shipping slow SMR drives, the issue is, it was never explicitly disclosed to the customers/end users. It's not that simple. Even it the letters "SMR" were used in marketing, most customers won't know what the technical term means or what its implications are. In reality, it means some drives using it, such as WD Reds, are not suitable for their advertised purpose. I don't know what the law says about this in any particular part of the USA, but certainly in some other countries that would be a breach of consumer protection rules even if the technology had been disclosed.