Apple reached a settlement with more than 30 U.S. states for the iPhone “speed-down door” and agreed to pay $113 million
San Francisco, November 19th. On the 18th local time, Apple agreed to pay 113 million US dollars to settle allegations from 33 US states and the District of Columbia, The accusation claims that Apple secretly slowed down the iPhone to cover up its battery problems and in this way prompted users to buy new phones.
Bloomberg reported that regulators accused Apple of equipping the iPhone with batteries that consume fast and easily shut down. In 2016, Apple quietly updated the software on iPhone 6, 7 and SE models to limit the chip speed and solve problems such as unexpected shutdown of the phone.
The states stated that this was a deceptive tactic and that Apple was supposed to replace the battery or disclose the problem to the phone. Reuters reported that Arizona court documents indicate that millions of users have been affected by the power-off issue of their mobile phones.
National Public Radio reported that this situation was only exposed for the first time after iPhone users complained on the Internet. Apple claimed at the time that the accidental shutdown had affected a “very few” iPhones, but investigators said that Apple has been trying to hide the problem from the public.
Apple has stated that iPhone users do not need to change their phones, but the state attorneys general led by Arizona found that users have no choice. Arizona State Attorney General Mark Brunovic said in a document published on the 18th: “Many consumers believe that the only way to improve performance is to buy new iPhones from Apple. Apple certainly fully understands the effects of these factors on sales. Impact.” According to investigators in the state, the move “may increase the sales of millions of devices each year.”
According to reports, the settlement includes a payment of US$5 million to Arizona, a payment of US$24.6 million to California, where Apple is headquartered, and a US$7.6 million payment to Texas. Brunovic said the fine received in his state will be used to fund more investigations of other companies.
In December 2017, Apple admitted its use of software upgrades to slow down the running speed of old phones, and apologized rarely. Some users believed that Apple used to slow down the running speed of old phones to induce people to buy new phones, and initiated a class action lawsuit. In March of this year, Apple reached a settlement with domestic consumers in the “speed-down door” class action lawsuit and agreed to compensate up to $500 million. The San Jose “Mercury” reported that the plaintiff referred to the lawsuit as “one of the largest consumer fraud cases in history.”
“Large technology companies must stop fooling consumers and disclose the entire truth about their behavior and products,” Brunovic said. “If these giant companies conceal the truth from users, I will hold them accountable.”
