Apple faces a $3.8 billion lawsuit over antitrust practices in iCloud.

The British consumer rights organization, Which?, has filed a class action lawsuit amounting to £3 billion (around $3.8 billion) against Apple. The accusation is based on an alleged violation of competition law, claiming that the company has kept its customers captive in the expensive iCloud cloud storage service. According to the lawsuit, if these claims succeed, approximately 40 million Apple device users in the UK could be entitled to a refund.

Which? originated from the merger of two entities: a consumer association dedicated to protecting and educating users about their rights, and Which? Limited, which focuses on providing information and product comparisons. The CEO of Which?, Anabel Hoult, stated that they believe Apple owes nearly £3 billion to its customers due to practices that force them to use iCloud and restrict competition from other services. Through this legal action, Which? aims to teach large corporations like Apple that they cannot deceive British consumers without consequences. This process also entails a desire to improve the market and foster fairer competition.

The group argues that the iOS operating system is monopolistic, as it makes it difficult to use alternatives to iCloud for storing content such as photos or videos. Once users sign up for iCloud, they face significant obstacles in transferring their data to other services. The lawsuit also includes allegations that Apple charges excessive fees for its service once the free 5 GB limit is exceeded, with price increases of up to 29% just in 2023. Which? seeks damages for consumers who registered for iCloud since October 2015, hoping that each affected person receives around £70 (approximately $88).

Additionally, Which? has requested that Apple refund users and facilitate the migration to other cloud storage services on iOS to avoid future legal actions. This is not the first time Apple has faced issues related to monopoly accusations. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company for such practices, and the European Union has imposed fines on Apple for interfering with competition through the App Store.

In a further context, Apple has introduced an optional feature in iCloud that enhances the security of certain data, although this has not entirely satisfied all users. Recently, two women have sued Apple due to the use of their AirTags for non-consensual tracking by ex-partners, adding another concern regarding privacy and security in the use of technology.