PARIS, Dec 7 (Reuters) – A French environmental association said on Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Apple over practices that limit product repair options for unauthorized repairers.
“In many cases documented in the complaint, malfunctions are found in cases where the device is repaired with a part, even identical and original, not authorized by Apple software,” the association said on Wednesday. Stop Planned Obsolescence (HOP) in a press release.
HOP thus accuses the smartphone manufacturer of disadvantaging independent repair or reconditioning, “in favor of the sale of new smartphones or captive repair, at prices that are often dissuasive for the consumer”.
Apple France was not immediately available for comment.
Apple agreed to pay 25 million euros in 2020, after a complaint from HOP, for failing to inform iPhone users that updates to the operating system could cause the device to function more slowly.
French law prohibits deliberately reducing the life of a product to increase its replacement rate. (Tassilo Hummel report, written by Dominique Vidalon; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)
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