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| Qualcomm is required to pay $ 680 million to phone owners |
After a series of antitrust fines for misuse of electricity, Qualcomm is now facing consumer lawsuits that may force Qualcomm to compensate UK cell phone owners.
British Consumer Protection Organization? Which chip maker Qualcomm has filed a lawsuit worth £ 482.5m ($ 683m) for alleged antitrust violations?
The organization claimed that Qualcomm had taken advantage of its dominant position in the patent and processor licensing market by charging Apple and Samsung high fees for technology licenses, and that consumers were paying for technology licenses by increasing the price of smartphones.
The organization estimates that people who have purchased Apple and Samsung devices since October 1, 2015, may receive fees ranging from $ 24 to $ 42, depending on the number and type of smartphones they purchase.
If the lawsuit is successful, about 29 million Britons could be compensated for charging excessive fees on their smartphones.
"We believe Qualcomm's anti-competitive practices have attracted around £ 480 million from the pockets of UK consumers so far, and this situation should end," said Annabel Holt, Executive Director of UK Consumer Protection Group.
Qualcomm has denied the allegations, stating that the Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit related to unfair practices since 2017, which was suspended last year.
A company spokesperson told the BBC: Last summer, the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit was unanimously dismissed by a jury in the Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals.
The new challenges reflect the legal steps the chip giant has taken in recent years.
Although $ 683 million represented only 2.8% of Qualcomm's sales in 2020, the company is trying to weed out the bad ads caused by fines and lawsuits.
Previously, in Asia alone, the company faced antitrust sanctions in China, South Korea and Taiwan, with fines of more than $ 2.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the European Commission fined Apple 997 million euros ($ 1.23 billion) in 2018 for paying Apple for an exclusive modem deal.
The European Commission fined again 242 million euros (271 million US dollars) in 2019 for cutting the price of 3G chips and hurting competitors.