An investigation into deceptive business practices and planned obsolescence was opened in December 2022 following a complaint filed by the French association Halte à l’obsolescence (HOP) against US smartphone giant Apple, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday.
The investigations into this complaint for which a defective repairability of the apple devices was reported were entrusted to the national investigation service of the General Directorate of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), according to the prosecutor’s office, which confirmed a association announcement.
Stop Planned Obsolescence wants to shed light on the practice of “serialization”, which consists of associating the serial numbers of spare parts with that of a smartphone, making repairs restricted and causing damage to the devices.
fine of 25 million euros
Apple has been accused in particular for several years of limiting the repair possibilities of its products and thus leading to planned obsolescence. Several users note, for example, malfunctions of their devices after repairing a part “even identical and original” but “not authorized by Apple software”.
The “Stop Planned Obsolescence” association, at the origin of several complaints against Apple, had already obtained in 2020 the company’s sentence to a fine of 25 million euros.
Source: BFM TV
