Apple is facing a close to £3 billion ($3.78 billion) lawsuit after British consumer group Which? on Thursday alleged that the company breached UK competition law by locking millions of users into its iCloud service and charging them “rip-off prices.” (Via Reuters).
While Apple users are allotted 5GB of free cloud storage, and are then required to pay anywhere from £0.99 a month for 50GB of extra space to £54.99 a month for 12TB. Many users find they quickly run out of their free storage space, as they take several videos and photos, messages, and other content.
Which? said Apple encouraged its users to sign up to iCloud to store photos, videos and other data while making it difficult to use alternative providers.
Customers then had to pay for the service once their data exceeded the free 5GB limit, it said.
The suit alleges that the company makes it difficult for customers to use alternative cloud storage providers “by giving its iCloud storage service preferential treatment,” and “‘trapping’ customers with Apple devices into using iCloud.”
The legal action was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and said it was seeking damages for 40 million Apple users in the UK. A successful verdict could see iCloud users in the UK receiving as much as £70 each. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, all eligible users are automatically included in the claim unless they choose to opt out.
Which? said it was urging Apple “to resolve this claim without the need for litigation by offering consumers their money back and opening up iOS to allow users a real choice for cloud services.” Which? CEO Anabel Hoult commented: “Taking this legal action means we can help consumers to get the redress that they are owed, deter similar behaviour in the future and create a better, more competitive market.”
Apple also released a statement rejecting the charge that its iCloud practices are anticompetitive, saying it would “vigorously defend against any legal claim otherwise.” Apple said it works hard to make data transfer as easy as possible, and that nearly 50% of its customers do not pay for an iCloud+ subscription.
