Apple CEO Tim Cook named in South Korean complaint over iPhone slowdowns

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2018
South Korean consumer group Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty this week filed a criminal complaint against Apple CEO Tim Cook, alleging the company's decision to throttle iPhones with depleted batteries amounts to destruction of property and fraud.


Source: iFixit


The South Korean action arrives amidst a growing pile of U.S. class-action lawsuits -- numbered at nearly 50 -- and government investigations relating to the iPhone slowdown controversy, reports Reuters.

Like similar filings stateside and abroad, the Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty complaint takes issue with Apple's release of iOS 10.2.1 in 2016, a software update that included a CPU throttling feature for iPhone 6, 6s and SE models. Along with Thursday's filing, the group represents plaintiffs in a separate damages suit leveled against Apple in January.

"For the sake of its loyal fans, Apple has to take responsibility over the slowing iPhones," said Park Soon-jang, an official at the South Korean advocacy group.

It is unclear whether the complaint will spur government officials into action, as the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office declined to comment on the matter, the report said.

Apple in a statement last month said the update was designed to prevent older iPhones from randomly shutting down, a potential result of operating hardware with degraded battery cells. However, a number of users cried foul, saying it Apple is in the wrong for intentionally slowing down hardware without an owner's knowledge.

In December, Apple admitted to slowing down certain iPhones, explaining that the iOS feature is intended "to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions." The company added that similar preventative measures have been applied to iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with the release of iOS 11.2, and will further be implemented in future products.

After customer blowback, Apple issued an apology and announced an upcoming version of iOS will allow users to determine whether the health of their battery is impacting processor performance. On Wednesday, Cook revealed the pending software update will also let users disable the CPU throttling feature altogether.

Beyond legal action from disgruntled consumers, Apple faces multiple government inquiries into its handling of iPhone battery issues. France's anti-fraud agency initiated an investigation into so-called planned obsolescence earlier this month, while U.S. lawmakers are pursuing similar lines of questioning.

Most recently, Italy on Thursday launched a probe investigating whether Apple and Samsung use software updates to intentionally slow down their respective smartphones, forcing consumers to upgrade to newer handsets.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    Stupider and stupider...
    racerhomie3magman1979watto_cobraStrangeDaysjony0
  • Reply 2 of 14
    metrixmetrix Posts: 256member
    How about those Samsung washers that are flying apart , maybe you should look into that ...worthless 
    magman1979watto_cobrajony0badmonk
  • Reply 3 of 14
    Don't know who is on duty today but thanks foe deleting FreeRange's spam. This is the 3rd story where he is posting the same unrelated crap.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 14
    i'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that south korea will side with samsung... er, i mean... the korean group that's filing the suit
    watto_cobraStrangeDaysjony0
  • Reply 5 of 14
    Just when I was thinking, how nice of those thoughtful guys at Apple for preserving my communications until I can get a replacement battery......
  • Reply 6 of 14
    berndog said:
    Just when I was thinking, how nice of those thoughtful guys at Apple for preserving my communications until I can get a replacement battery......
    Huh?
    jahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 14
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    I have never noticed any kind of slowdown on my iphone 6.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 14
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I’m from Illinois where we had two governors in Federal prison at the same time (George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich). Just thinking about the CEOs of Apple and Samsung being in prison at the same time. /s
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 14
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Anyone think “Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty” might be funded by, well, you know who?
    StrangeDayswatto_cobraboltsfan17jony0
  • Reply 10 of 14
    herbapou said:
    I have never noticed any kind of slowdown on my iphone 6.  
    So what? Is that a proof that "Everyone with an iPhone 6 in this world did NOT face any kind of slowdown" in the last 3 years? If that is the case, why would Apple "apologize" for throttling the CPU of the same iPhone 6 with weaker batteries????
  • Reply 11 of 14
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    lkrupp said:
    Anyone think “Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty” might be funded by, well, you know who?
    I was thinking the same thing. I was searching to see if they ever did anything over Samsung's exploding phones or cheating on benchmark scores, but couldn't find anything. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,821member
    herbapou said:
    I have never noticed any kind of slowdown on my iphone 6.  
    So what? Is that a proof that "Everyone with an iPhone 6 in this world did NOT face any kind of slowdown" in the last 3 years? If that is the case, why would Apple "apologize" for throttling the CPU of the same iPhone 6 with weaker batteries????
    That isn't what they apologized for, dur. They apologized that some of their customers feel Apple "let them down". Note the wording. They're sorry you feel that way. Which is not at all the same as saying sorry for doing it (they aren't because they needn't be).
    watto_cobrafastasleepjony0
  • Reply 13 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,821member
    This is hilarious. They're just pissed that their own Samsung CEO is rotten scum sitting in prison. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 14
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Complete grandiose as shit name for an organization which is expected for an organization peddling crap.
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