UK-Based Consumer Activist Group Files a £3 Billion Anti-competitive Lawsuit Against Apple

Key Takeaways

• Well-known UK-based consumer group Which? Has filed a 3 billion ($3.8 billion) lawsuit against Apple for forcing users to use iCloud for storage.
• This lack of competition has also allowed it to ridiculously increase the prices of iCloud's plans.
• Apple has denied any wrongdoing and pledged to defend itself in court once the lawsuit goes to trial.

Apple has been slapped with a 3 billion ($3.8 billion) by the UK-based consumer group called Which? for allegedly abusing its dominant market position and forcing its iCloud storage on users.

We believe Apple customers are owed nearly 3 billion as a result of the tech giant forcing its iCloud services on customers and cutting off competition from rival services. - Which? Chief executive Anabel Hoult

The lawsuit has been filed with the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal and Which? is seeking permission to act as a class representative for all affected users.

As per Which?, more than 40 million Apple users in the UK have suffered because of this practice. Hence it's filing this lawsuit on behalf of all of them. It will cover all eligible Apple users unless they decide to opt out of it.

If the lawsuit goes in its favor, then each user will win a compensation of around 70 ($90), depending on how they have been using the service.

More About the Accusations

If you are an Apple user, you are probably using iCloud for storing your files and photos. However, Which? believes that this might not always be a conscious choice.

It feels that Apple is indirectly forcing its customers to choose iCloud by offering preferential treatment to iCloud users and being unclear about alternatives.

Even if someone does manage to try to opt for an alternative storage solution, the user will still be forced to use iCloud because you cannot store all your data on a third-party storage platform. There is certain data that has to be stored on iCloud, no exceptions.

Now, this probably would have been fine if iCloud was a free service. But that's not the case. The moment you hit the free 5GB storage limit, you will have to purchase additional storage space, the price for which will range from 0.99 to 54.99 per month.

The pricing is ridiculously high. But since there's no competition, the company can get away with it. In fact, in 2023, Apple raised the prices of all iCloud plans by 20% to 29%. Once again, because there was not an equally competent alternative, it was able to get away with it.

Apple Denies Wrongdoing, Says Customers Are Free to Choose

Apple has responded to the lawsuit and denied taking part in any anti-competitive practices. According to the company, it gives users the choice to choose between iCloud or any other storage solution of their choice.

It is the users who willingly choose iCloud over other options. It also denied making the data transfer process difficult for other storage solutions. At the end, it added that it will actively defend the lawsuit when it goes to trial.

Past Lawsuits Against iCloud

iCloud has had its fair share of trouble with the authorities. Here are some other lawsuits that the company had to deal with in the past:

• In March this year, a plaintiff called Julianna Felix Gamboa filed a similar lawsuit against Apple, accusing the iCloud of being anti-competitive and overcharging users for storage upgrades.
• Another iCloud lawsuit was settled outside court with Apple paying $14.8 million in settlement after it breached its own Terms of Services by storing the data of some US users on non-Apple servers.
• A lawsuit filed in August 2024 also accused the company of allowing the storage and distribution of child abuse material. The company allegedly knew about the content and chose to ignore it owing to its privacy protections".

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