Another day, another lawsuit. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a federal lawsuit against Apple for allegedly disabling iPhone and iPad hardware repaired by unauthorized third parties.
The Commission says the tech giant violated Australia’s consumer law by shutting down or “bricking” the devices with an iOS update, then telling customers the company wouldn’t fix the problem at no cost because their devices had been previously serviced by Apple, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s seeking penalties, injunctions, declarations, compliance program orders, corrective notices and costs in its action against Apple.
”Consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law exist independently of any manufacturers warranty and are not extinguished simply because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said. “Denying a consumer their consumer guarantee rights simply because they had chosen a third party repairer not only impacts those consumers but can dissuade other customers from making informed choices about their repair options including where they may be offered at lower cost than the manufacturer.”
