ALBAWABA - The UK consumer advocacy organization Which? has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for a whopping £3 billion ($3.8 billion), alleging that its iCloud storage service restricts consumer choices and charges outrageous costs, AFP reports.
About 40 million customers in the UK were represented in the action, which was submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK. Apple's iCloud service is accused of "locking" users into its ecosystem, making it harder to move to other providers while also hiking up costs.
Which?'s case is based on claims that Apple restricts competition by favoring its iCloud service in an abuse to its dominant position in the tablet and smartphone industries. Since iCloud only offers 5GB of free storage before requiring a premium plan, Apple encourages customers to save and backup their data using this service by integrating it into Apple products before having to pay for more storage, as Yahoo reports.
According to the consumer organization, Apple's latest price increase, which increased the cost of an iCloud membership by up to 29%, is an example of what they call "rip-off" pricing. Which? argues that the absence of viable third-party options limits customer choice and drives up costs.
"By bringing this claim, Which? is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK consumers without facing repercussions," said Anabel Hoult, CEO of Which?, emphasizing that the organization is dedicated to seeking customer compensation and maintaining a competitive market environment.
Apple has denied the allegations, claiming that customers have a variety of third-party cloud storage alternatives and are not required to utilize iCloud. “We will vigorously defend against any legal claim and reject any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anticompetitive,” a spokesperson said, according to AFP.
