14 DAY TRIAL // Apple recently gets a lot of heat from consumers after it confirmed earlier this month that it intentionally slows down old iPhone devices to prevent unexpected shutdowns that could be caused by degraded batteries.
First hit by multiple lawsuits in the United States that they violate consumer protection laws by throttling old iPhone devices, now Apple is facing a legal battle in Europe, as French organization HOP (Halte à l'Obsolescence Programmée), which stands for Stop Planned Obsolescence, filed legal complaints due to planned obsolescence.
Routers reports that co-founder of HOP Laetitia Vasseur told them that the aim of the legal complaints against Apple, which were filed earlier this week in Paris, France, is to apply the French consumer law and charge Apple's executives with up to 300,000 euros, 5% of the company's annual turnover, and two years in prison.
"Everything is organized to force consumers to renew their smartphones," said Laetitia Vasseur, co-founder of HOP, for for TheLocal.fr. "However, when the phone is priced at 1,200 euros, which is more than the SMIC (the minimum monthly wage in France), these practices are unacceptable and must be punished."
Consumers in Israel also suing Apple
With no less than eight lawsuits in the United States and one nasty legal battle in France, it would appear that Apple is also being sued by consumers in Israel because it released operating system updates for older iPhone models like iPhone SE, iPhone 6, and iPhone 7, that slow down the performance to prevent sudden shutdowns.
These sudden shutdowns could happen on iPhone devices with damaged batteries in cold weather if they're low on charge. Apple says that this is not a bug, but a feature, and while some appreciate it, it looks like some people out there believe it's a marketing strategy to force people into buying new iPhone models.