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| Apple faces a new lawsuit over slowing down its iPhone |
The Italian consumer association Altroconsumo said on Monday that Apple has deliberately slowed down its old iPhone in Italy and asked the association to notify the US tech giant that the company has filed a class-action lawsuit against it.
In a press release, the association said it had applied for 60 million euros ($ 73 million) in compensation, or about 60 euros per device, for Italian consumers misled by the practices recognized by the Italian authorities.
Euroconsumers, a European organization for consumer protection, said the compensation of € 60 is the average price for consumers to replace batteries in devices. The organization includes Altroconsumo in Italy.
The lawsuit concerns cell phone owners of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, which were sold nearly 1 million times in Italy between 2014 and 2020.
Apple said in an email: No action has been taken to shorten the life of any of its products on purpose or to reduce the user experience in order to attract customers.
She added: Our goal has always been to deliver products that customers love and to make the iPhone as long as possible an important part of that.
Els Bruggeman (Els Bruggeman), European Director of Consumer Policy and Enforcement, said in a statement: “When consumers buy an iPhone, they expect the product to be of lasting quality. Unfortunately, the iPhone 6 didn't happen to the series.
Consumers are not only fooled, but also subject to economic setbacks and losses. From an environmental point of view, this is completely irresponsible.
European consumers filed two similar lawsuits in December on behalf of Belgium's Test-Achats and OCU members in Spain, causing the old iPhone to slow down.
The European Consumer Association, which has coordinated all three studies, plans to launch a fourth collective action in Portugal in the coming weeks.
After Apple admitted to slowing down an older iPhone and compensating consumers who had bought an iPhone 6 or 7 that was throttling to extend battery life, it agreed to a $ 500 deal in March for $ 1 million.
The company agreed to a second deal with 34 countries in November, and paid an additional $ 113 million.
Prosecutors said Apple Computer fully understands that people who cover up the deliberate slowness of old phones can buy new phones instead of replacing batteries.