Home Which? sues Apple for $3.8B, alleging unfair iCloud practices in the UK

Which? sues Apple for $3.8B, alleging unfair iCloud practices in the UK

TLDR

  • Which? is suing Apple for £3 billion, claiming unfair iCloud promotion affects UK users.
  • The lawsuit alleges Apple restricts third-party storage options, pushing users toward iCloud.
  • Apple denies accusations, stating users are free to choose alternative storage providers.

The consumer rights group Which? is suing Apple for £3 billion ($3.8 billion), alleging the company unfairly promotes its iCloud service, impacting around 40 million UK customers who could receive £70 each if the lawsuit succeeds.

The claim suggests that Apple breached UK competition laws by giving iCloud preferential treatment, restricting customer choice to Apple’s own storage option. According to Which?, Apple’s practices discourage users from exploring alternative storage providers, leading many to rely on iCloud for storing photos, videos, and other data.

The group further alleges Apple has overcharged customers by reducing competition, effectively “trapping” them into using iCloud on their devices.

Which? alleges Apple traps users into iCloud by limiting third-party storage options, forcing iOS users to pay once they exceed 5GB. The lack of competition, due to Apple’s market dominance, has led to increased subscription costs, with iCloud prices rising by up to 29% in 2023 for U.K. customers.

Which? says Apple can’t ‘rip off’ customers

Which?’s chief executive, Anabel Hoult, stated: “By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK customers without facing repercussions.

“Taking this legal action means we can help consumers to get the redress that they are owned, deter similar behaviour in the future and create a better, more competitive market.”

However, Apple said it rejected the Which? accusations and would “vigorously defend” itself against any legal claim.

An Apple spokesperson told ReadWrite: “Apple believes in providing our customers with choices,” a spokesperson said.

“Our users are not required to use iCloud, and many rely on a wide range of third-party alternatives for data storage. In addition, we work hard to make data transfer as easy as possible – whether it’s to iCloud or another service.

“We reject any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anti-competitive and will vigorously defend against any legal claim otherwise.”

At the moment, Apple doesn’t require customers to use iCloud Backup or iCloud to store files. Nearly 50% of Apple customers reportedly do not need to pay for an iCloud+ subscription.

In a separate lawsuit, ReadWrite reported that the tech giant was potentially facing a massive fine of around $539 million (€500m) from the European Union over alleged breaches of its competition laws.

The issue stems from an antitrust complaint filed by Spotify in 2019, relating to Apple’s anti-competitive App Store functions which hindered third-party music streaming services on its devices.

Featured image: Ideogram

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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