iCloud storage can be a sore spot for iPhone users who don’t want to pay monthly for cloud storage but also find the free 5GB plan nowhere near sufficient. Apple, however, has just defeated a US lawsuit concerning its iCloud storage practices after a judge dismissed the case.
Judge dismisses lawsuit after claims against Apple ruled to lack merit
Mike Scarcella writes at Reuters:
Apple won a ruling dismissing a lawsuit that accused the iPhone maker of illegally monopolizing the market for digital storage, causing consumers to pay more for its iCloud service.
U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee in San Jose, California, on Friday said the plaintiffs in the class action had not shown Apple violated federal or state antitrust law. However, she ruled they could amend their complaint and refile it.
The lawsuit alleged Apple violated antitrust law by coercing customers to use the company’s iCloud service to back up core data and device setting files. Apple has denied any wrongdoing.
Plaintiffs argued that Apple had a monopoly over cloud storage on its devices, since no alternative services can perform certain functions such as powering an iPhone restore. They consequently accused Apple of artificially inflating its iCloud storage prices.
In dismissing the suit, Judge Lee seemed highly skeptical of the claims. She said in her ruling, “if anything, Apple’s allegedly high prices would incentivize rivals to increase production to take share from Apple.”
The judge also denied the notion that purchasing iCloud storage is a requirement for users, or that Apple had been shown to hold monopoly-like power in the cloud storage market.
My big takeaway from this case: Apple’s 5GB iCloud storage offering probably isn’t changing any time soon, nor its paid storage options.
What do you think of the iCloud storage lawsuit ruling? Let us know in the comments.
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