An investigation of Apple is underway by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission after the company admitted to intentionally slowing older iPhone models.
The slowdown upset iPhone users, and now the investigators are looking into the possibility that Apple also misled investors about the performance of older smartphone devices. It will be decided whether or not Apple violated securities laws in its public statements made related to the situation.
According to Bloomberg, this reported investigation is in early stages and it’s too soon to know if enforcement will follow.
Even though Apple apologized to customers, the ordeal blew up as the company was sued by consumer advocacy groups and other individuals. There’s been tons of public backlash, even after Apple cut replacement battery prices in half (which would solve the related issues).
U.S. Senator John Thune has even spoken out on the slowdown:
“Even if Apple’s actions were indeed only intended to avoid unexpected shutdowns in older phones, the large volume of consumer criticism leveled against the company in light of its admission suggests that there should have been better transparency with respect to these practices,”
Honesty is always the best policy. Full disclosure is also the best policy and it sounds like Apple has a long way to go with slowdown related investigations and lawsuits.
Source: Bloomberg