Apple in mass suit
Apple devices with weak batteries were limited in their performance.
WashingtonApple's iPhone throttling also gets the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission SEC on the scene, according to media reports. They requested information from the company and asked if investors had been properly informed, Bloomberg Financial Services and the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The exact starting point of the investigations remained unclear. At the same time, citing informed persons, they said they were at an early stage and could also be discontinued.
Apple has been slowing down the performance of worn-out iPhones in some situations for about a year so that devices will not shut down under full load. The public remained largely unknown until a few weeks ago. Apple is now in the sights of several dozen consumer lawsuits in the US. The plaintiffs argue that, knowing the situation, they might have decided to change the battery instead of buying a new iPhone. CEO Tim Cook admitted recently, "maybe we should have been clearer," but insisted that only iPhones with weak batteries wanted to make longer usable.
"We have received questions from some government agencies that we are responding to," said Apple spokeswoman Bloomberg on the new reports. At the same time, she reiterated that the group would not worsen products to boost sales.