Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple, AT&T On Like Donkey Kong
Apple and AT&T can't seem to catch a break in the court of public opinion lately, and now the two will have to defend themselves in a real court. That's because a federal judge has ruled that a monopoly lawsuit against Apple and AT&T over alleged violations to antitrust law can proceed as a class action, according to reports.
The all-encompassing lawsuit represents a whole bunch of individual suits filed by iPhone buyers dating back to 2007 shortly after the original iPhone came to market. In short, the lawsuit takes issue with Apple's decision to lock iPhones so that they can only work on AT&T's network, and also charges Apple with secretly making AT&T its exclusive iPhone partner in the U.S. for five years. On that latter point, if it's true, it would rank as one of the worst kept secrets ever.
As the class action lawsuit goes, this partnership between Apple and AT&T ultimately hurt competition and caused consumers to pay more for hardware and services than they otherwise would have.
The lawsuit includes anyone who bought an iPhone with a 2-year service agreement dating back to when the device first went on sale.
The all-encompassing lawsuit represents a whole bunch of individual suits filed by iPhone buyers dating back to 2007 shortly after the original iPhone came to market. In short, the lawsuit takes issue with Apple's decision to lock iPhones so that they can only work on AT&T's network, and also charges Apple with secretly making AT&T its exclusive iPhone partner in the U.S. for five years. On that latter point, if it's true, it would rank as one of the worst kept secrets ever.
As the class action lawsuit goes, this partnership between Apple and AT&T ultimately hurt competition and caused consumers to pay more for hardware and services than they otherwise would have.
The lawsuit includes anyone who bought an iPhone with a 2-year service agreement dating back to when the device first went on sale.
