Apple hit with Rs 28,340 crore lawsuit in UK over iCloud practices, here is why
Follow UsApple is facing a major lawsuit in the UK over its iCloud storage service.
The lawsuit seeks around £3 billion (roughly Rs 28,340 crore) in damages for nearly 40 million UK consumers.
Apple has not been ordered to pay damages yet.
Apple is facing a major lawsuit in the UK over its iCloud storage service. British consumer group Which? has accused the iPhone maker of unfairly pushing users toward iCloud while making it harder for people to use rival cloud storage services. The lawsuit seeks around £3 billion (roughly Rs 28,340 crore) in damages for nearly 40 million UK consumers.
SurveyThe case was first filed in late 2024 and recently moved forward after a UK tribunal rejected Apple’s request to narrow the scope of the lawsuit. Apple had argued that users who do not pay for iCloud subscriptions should not be included in the claim, according to MacRumors. However, the tribunal ruled in a 2-1 majority decision that both paying and non-paying iCloud users can remain part of the lawsuit.
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Apple currently offers 5GB of free iCloud storage for photos, messages and other content on iPhones. Once users cross the free limit, they are encouraged to buy paid storage options. Which? claims Apple favours its own cloud service and makes it difficult for customers to use alternative storage providers.
According to Which?, some users may have wanted to buy iCloud storage if prices were lower in a more competitive market, as per the report. For example, the group argues that Apple’s 200GB iCloud plan, currently priced at £2.99, could have cost £1.99 under fair competition.
While two tribunal members supported Which?, one member sided with Apple and warned that such cases could lead to more lawsuits based on hypothetical pricing calculations.
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Apple has not been ordered to pay damages yet. The company will now face a trial to find whether it abused its market position and unfairly favoured iCloud on iOS devices.
UK consumers who used iCloud services between November 8, 2018, and the present are automatically included in the claim unless they choose to opt out. Which? estimates that eligible users could receive an average payout of around £70 if the lawsuit succeeds, as per the report.
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