Apple Faces £3 Billion UK Trial Over iCloud Lock-In Claims
MacRumors • • technology
Key Points:
- Apple faces a UK lawsuit filed by consumer group Which? accusing it of locking 40 million UK users into iCloud, harming third-party cloud storage providers, with a claim of £3 billion in damages.
- The UK tribunal denied Apple's request to exclude non-paying iCloud users from the lawsuit, allowing the case to cover both paying and free-tier customers, citing a novel legal question regarding "forgone consumer surplus."
- Which? argues that Apple’s pricing and design practices unfairly favor its own iCloud service, preventing customers from accessing competitively priced alternatives, resulting in financial harm even to those who did not purchase iCloud subscriptions.
- The tribunal was split 2-1, with one judge warning that accepting the "forgone consumer surplus" theory could lead to numerous similar claims based on hypothetical losses by non-purchasers.
- The case will proceed to trial to determine whether Apple abused its market position, with Which? urging Apple to settle by refunding consumers and allowing iOS users to choose alternative cloud providers.
