A group of Apple users in the United States has filed a class action lawsuit against the company because it is said to be violating competition law with its iCloud storage offering. The lawsuit (5:24-cv-01270, 3/1/24, ND Cal.), reported by legal news service Bloomberg Law, argues that Apple's service restricts other providers in order to further dominate the market. The prices are “so high that (Apple) almost only generates pure profit,” according to the lawsuit.
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Package formation criticized
Apple has been offering its customers 5 GB of free storage for almost 13 years to store backups and documents, among other things. Given that current iPhones have at least 128 GB, this is far too little. Accordingly, many users buy additional space for iCloud. In euros you pay for “iCloud+”, which also includes other services such as HomeKit Secure Video or iCloud Private Relay, for 50 GB 99 cents, for 200 GB 2.99 euros, for 2 TB 9.99 euros, for 6 TB 29, 99 euros and for 12 TBytes 59.99 euros per month.
The class plaintiffs, who hope to find several million co-plaintiffs, criticize, among other things, the fact that only Apple's own cloud platform is allowed to host certain data, including settings, application data and backups. This “arbitrary practice” “unlawfully linked” Apple’s mobile devices and iCloud.
“Unattraktive Option”
The plaintiffs plan to sue both nationwide and just in California, where the main issue is pricing. Apple has competitors such as Google, Microsoft and Dropbox, but it is difficult to combine different cloud services and they are also the “less attractive option” compared to iCloud.
“(Apple) prevents competing cloud platforms from offering a comprehensive cloud solution that can compete with iCloud,” the plaintiffs continued. This is the only way Apple can only offer 5 GB of free space and then charge money for more. It is currently unclear whether the lawsuit will actually find co-plaintiffs or whether it will even be admitted as a class action lawsuit. Apple has not yet commented on the matter. Class action lawsuits against the company are not uncommon. They often end with out-of-court settlements in which Apple counts for millions, but the parties to the lawsuit receive comparatively little.
(bsc)