Yahoo Finance Apple executives could face jail over France iPhone obsolescence lawsuit
Apple executives could face a jail term and the company fined millions after admitting it deliberately slowed down older iPhones.
A French pressure group has filed a lawsuit under a 2015 act that expressly outlaws the practice of inbuilt obsolescence.
The maximum penalty for companies found guilty under French law is two years in prison, a fine of €300,000 (£267,000), and 5% of the company’s annual turnover.
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The action has been brought by Halte à l’Obsolescence Programmée (HOP), whose name translates to Stop Planned Obsolescence.
In a statement, the group claimed Apple’s actions broke a law that prohibits “the practice of planned obsolescence, which is defined by the use of techniques by which the person responsible for the marketing of a product aims to deliberately reduce the duration to increase the replacement rate”.
HOP co-founder Laetitia Vasseur said: “These practices are unacceptable and cannot go unpunished. It is our mission to defend consumers and the environment against this waste organised by Apple.”
MORE: Apple admits slowing down older iPhones to protect batteries
Apple last week finally admitted what many users had believed to be happening for years – that older devices such as iPhones were deliberately being made to run slower and that their battery life was predetermined to get significantly shorter after a certain time.
Apple said it did slow some phones with ageing batteries but said it was to “prolong the life” of the devices.
In a statement posted on its website, the firm said it would reduce the price of an out-of-warranty battery replacement from $79 (£58) to $29 (£21) for anyone with an iPhone 6 or later.
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It said it was seeking to “address customers’ concerns, to recognise their loyalty and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted Apple’s intentions”.
The tech giant added: “At Apple, our customers’ trust means everything to us. We will never stop working to earn and maintain it.”
Apple is facing similar lawsuits in the US and Israel over the issue.
