The British consumer association Which? announced Thursday a legal action against the American giant, accusing it of having “effectively locked millions of consumers” into its iCloud data storage service “at exorbitant prices”.
New lawsuit against GAFAM. The British consumer association Which? announced Thursday a legal action worth 3 billion pounds (3.6 billion euros) against Apple, accusing it of having “effectively locked away millions of consumers” in its iCloud data storage service “at exorbitant prices”. According to the association, some 40 million customers of the Californian technology giant in the United Kingdom who have benefited from iCloud services over the past nine years could be entitled to compensation, hence the damages estimated in the billions. The proceedings, filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, argue that the company gave its storage service preferential treatment on its devices, which amounts to “trap” its customers, according to a press release from Which?
In particular, the Apple firm does not authorize its customers to store or back up all of their phone data with a third-party provider and they must “pay for the service” house once passed «the free limit of 5 Go» notes the association, which also denounces the prices “excessive” invoiced. The association is seeking compensation for all customers affected since October 1, 2015, estimating that they could be awarded an average of £70 each.
“Our users are not required to use iCloud and many rely on a wide range of third-party alternatives for data storage”Apple told AFP, saying “work hard to make data transfer as simple as possible”. “We reject any suggestion that our practices on iCloud are anti-competitive and will vigorously defend against any legal action claiming otherwise.”added the company.
Apple has been ordered to pay fines in several countries in recent years for abuse of a dominant position, notably in France, Spain, Italy and Russia. In September, EU justice also definitively ruled in favor of the European Commission against Apple in a long-term legal case. She decided that the company would have to repay 13 billion euros in tax arrears to Ireland for having benefited from undue tax advantages, comparable to illegal state aid. Generally speaking, tech giants are in the crosshairs of regulators and justice around the world, particularly in Europe or the United States, in terms of unfair competition or data protection.
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