French authorities have opened an investigation into Apple over revelations it secretly slowed down older versions of its handsets, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.
The preliminary probe was opened last week over alleged “deception and planned obsolescence” of some Apple products, the office said. It is led by the French body in charge of fraud control, which is part of the finance ministry.
It follows a legal complaint filed in December by a French consumer rights group whose aim is to stop the intentional obsolescence of goods by companies.
In France it is illegal to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product in order to encourage customers replace it. A 2015 law makes that a crime, with penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to 5 percent of the company’s annual turnover.
Apple apologized in December for secretly slowing down older iPhones, a move it said was necessary to avoid unexpected shutdowns related to battery fatigue.
The company said on its website “we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.”
Apple France didn’t respond to email and phone requests for comment on the latest legal developments in France from The Associated Press.
This story is from the January 13, 2018 edition of Techlife News.
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This story is from the January 13, 2018 edition of Techlife News.
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