UK consumer group Which? has filed a £3 billion action against Apple over alleged competition law breaches related to its iCloud service.
The claim alleges that the iPhone maker locked customers into iCloud and charged them handsomely for the privilege. Which? claims that around 40 million Apple customers in the UK who have obtained iCloud services in the last nine years could be affected, charging that Apple abused its market dominance “to gain an unfair advantage.”
According to Which? “A key tactic to achieve this has been encouraging users to sign up to iCloud for storage of photos, videos and other data while simultaneously making it difficult to use alternative providers, including because Apple does not allow customers to store or back up all of their phone’s data with a third-party provider.
“iOS users then have to pay for the service once photos, notes, messages and other data go over the free 5GB limit.”
Anyone who has had to deal with an iPhone sending multiple reminders about the device being unable to create a backup due to insufficient iCloud capacity – and wearily signed up to iCloud to stop the warnings – will be very familiar with these tactics.
Apple has faced allegations elsewhere regarding some sharp practices over its iCloud storage – namely that it operates a near monopoly, with third parties not given the same access as the fruit cart, and that customers are encouraged to sign up for iCloud over alternatives.
The Register asked Apple to comment on the Which? claim, but the iGiant has yet to respond. When similar questions were asked earlier this year in the US, it responded that the cloud storage marketplace offers many alternatives.
Apple is hardly alone in urging its customers to use its cloud storage services. Microsoft has come under regulatory scrutiny in recent years over its habit of packaging its cloud storage service, OneDrive, with Windows. As recently as 2024, the software titan was criticized for making OneDrive ever more difficult to avoid during the Windows installation process.
In 2023, Apple increased the price it charged UK consumers by as much as 29 percent, according to Which? Customers were not amused.
Which? is seeking damages for customers who have obtained iCloud services since October 1, 2015. UK customers will automatically be part of the claim unless they tell Which? they wish to opt out. As well as hoping for an average compensation of £70 per customer, Which? also wants Apple to open up iOS to allow users a choice of cloud services.
Tim Cook and co were recently forced to open up other elements of iOS, such as the browser, in response to Europe’s Digital Markets Act. Permitting a user to select an alternative cloud provider able to work at the same level at iCloud therefore seems technically feasible. Apple is, however, likely to resist any such move in the interests of security – and its bottom line.
The next step will be for Which? to get permission from the Competition Appeal Tribunal to act as class representative, and for the claim to proceed on a collective basis. ®
