MOSCOW, June 24– The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has granted permission for consumer advocacy group Which? to sue US tech giant Apple for £3 billion (US$3.95 billion) in damages over its iCloud cloud storage service, the group said, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
“Which? believes that Apple has breached UK competition law by failing to provide consumers with a choice of cloud storage providers and steering customers towards its iCloud service by not clearly informing them of available alternatives and how they can be used on iOS devices. The court has granted Which? a Collective Proceedings Order,” the organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.
Which? initially announced the lawsuit in late 2024, but has only now received permission from the tribunal for the case to proceed.
The group alleges that Apple stifled competition and overcharged millions of customers. It said users paid more for monthly iCloud subscriptions and received less free storage than users of other cloud storage providers.
Which? estimates that the company may owe each customer an average of £77 pounds in compensation for the overpayments.
