Accordingly, the "technology giant" Apple is facing a lawsuit worth nearly 3 billion pounds (about 3.8 billion USD) for violating competition law, related to forcing millions of users in the UK to use its cloud storage service at high fees.
A British consumer group has filed a complaint with the UK Competition Appeal Court, claiming that around 40 million UK Apple customers who have used iCloud over the past nine years could be entitled to an average of £70 each in compensation if the case is successful.
In a statement, the UK consumer protection group said that Apple had breached UK competition law by prioritizing iCloud storage services. This meant that the "Apple house" had "trapped" customers using Apple devices by forcing them to use iCloud.
According to the organization, Apple makes it difficult for people to use services from alternative providers and takes advantage of its market dominance to charge high fees to users.
Monthly iCloud subscription fees for UK consumers have increased from 20% to 29% in June 2023. iCloud is a cloud storage service that allows people to securely store photos, files and other data online, built into every Apple device.
Apple users, on the other hand, only get 5GB of free storage, and have to pay for more with plans ranging from 99p a month to £54.99 a month. Plan prices have risen by as much as 29% in the last year, affecting millions of users in the UK.
