“We believe Apple customers are owed nearly £3 billion as a result of the tech giant forcing its iCloud services on customers and cutting off competition from rival services,” Which? Chief Executive Anabel Hoult said in a press release. “By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK consumers without facing repercussions.”
Apple is facing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit accusing the company of forcing consumers in the United Kingdom to pay for iCloud storage services at “rip-off” prices.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit was filed by consumer advocacy group “Which?”.
In court documents, Which? claims that, if the proposed class action is successful, more than 40 million customers in the United Kingdom could be entitled to payouts averaging about $88 each.
“We believe Apple customers are owed nearly £3 billion as a result of the tech giant forcing its iCloud services on customers and cutting off competition from rival services,” Which? Chief Executive Anabel Hoult said in a press release. “By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK consumers without facing repercussions.”
“Taking this legal action means we can help consumers get the redress that they are owed, deter similar behaviour in the future and create a better, more competitive market,” Hoult said.
The company’s release also detailed several of the lawsuit’s central allegations.
“A key tactic to achieve [market dominance] has been encouraging users to sign up for iCloud for storage of photos, videos and other data, while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers, including because [sic] Apple does not allow customers tot store or back-up all of their phone’s data with a third-party provider,” Which? said. “iOS users then have to pay for the service once photos, notes, messages and other data go over the free 5GB limit.”
Which? also says that Apple overcharges users for iCloud subscriptions—a practice made possible by Apple’s general refusal to afford iOS users the option of choosing other digital storage platforms.
“Being “locked-in” to this service over time could come at a significant cost in terms of price, quality and choice,” Which? said. “With Apple being such a dominant player in the phone and tablet market, this behaviour also creates a barrier for any new cloud service providers looking to enter the market and prevents healthy competition.”
However, Apple has already rejected the lawsuit’s allegations, pledging to “vigorously defend” itself from legal action. In a statement issued to Forbes, an Apple spokesperson noted that iOS users are neither required to use iCloud nor locked into other Apple services.
“Our users are not required to use iCloud, and many rely on a wide range of third-party alternatives for data storage,” Apple said in a statement. “We reject any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anti-competitive and will vigorously defend against any legal claim [alleging] otherwise.”
Sources
Apple faces a new $3.75 billion antitrust lawsuit over iCloud storage
Apple facing near-£3bn UK lawsuit over cloud storage ‘monopoly’
Which? launches £3 billion action against Apple over competition law breaches
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