- Apple admitted last month that they deliberately slow down older iPhones
- This strategy, called ‘planned obsolescence’, became illegal in France in 2015
- French prosecutors are now investigating Apple over the practice
- If found guilty, Apple could be fined up to five percent of its annual sales
French prosecutors have launched an investigation into Apple over allegations of ‘planned obsolescence’ in some of its iPhone models, a judicial source said Monday.
Apple admitted last month that it intentionally slowed down some older iPhone models over time, and later issued an unprecedented apology in response to the global backlash.
If found guilty, Apple could be fined up to five per cent of its annual sales, and executives could face up to two years in jail.
Bad apples: Deliberately slowing down products to force consumers to buy new ones, is illegal in France, and if found guilty, Apple could be fined five per cent of its annual sales
The investigation, prompted by a complaint by a consumer organisation, was opened last week and is being lead by a consumer fraud watchdog which is part of the French economy ministry.
This practice, known as ‘planned obsolescence’ is a widely criticised strategy which sees manufacturers build in the expiry of their products so that consumers will be forced to replace them.
France passed landmark legislation in 2015 known as ‘Hamon’s law’ which made the ‘planned obsolescence’ illegal and – in theory – obliged retailers to say whether replacement parts were available.
Not so fast: Apple admitted last month that it intentionally slowed down older models of its iPhones over time, and later apologised
Apple, which is also facing lawsuits from customers in the US and Israel, has not respond to a request for comment by news agencies.
In December, the US tech giant admitted it ‘throttles’ phones to extend their life and stop them from shutting down as batteries age and become less effective.
On Thursday Apple published an apology letter saying ‘We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down’.
The firm revealed it is slashing the price of a replacement battery, and planning a software upgrade which will show users exactly how much their battery has degraded.