Apple Faces £3 Billion UK Trial Over iCloud Lock-In Claims

Source: MacRumors

Apple was not able to narrow the scope of a UK lawsuit accusing it of locking 40 million UK consumers into iCloud, to the detriment of third‑party cloud storage providers. British consumer group Which? first filed the lawsuit in late 2024, and is asking for £3 billion for UK Apple customers.

Trial Scope

Apple wanted to exclude non‑paying iCloud users from the lawsuit, but the tribunal denied the request in a 2‑to‑1 majority. The case will go to trial and will cover both paying and non‑paying iCloud customers.

Apple users receive 5 GB of free storage for photos, messages, and other content on the iPhone, but are encouraged to subscribe to higher‑tier iCloud storage options when the limit is exceeded. Which? claims that Apple favors its own cloud storage option and makes it difficult for customers to use alternative providers.

Legal Theory: Forgone Consumer Surplus (FCS)

Which? sued Apple on behalf of all iCloud users in the UK, regardless of subscription status. The tribunal noted that the lawsuit raises a “novel” legal question, as it is unaware of any prior case where damages have been sought for “forgone consumer surplus.”

FCS argues that people who were priced out of an iCloud subscription because of Apple’s alleged market abuse suffered a tangible loss: they were denied the opportunity to buy a service they wanted at a fair price in a competitive market.

• Example: The 200 GB iCloud tier costs £2.99, but Which? suggests a “fair” price would be £1.99. A customer who could have paid £1.99 but could not afford the £2.99 price is deemed to have lost £1, even though they paid nothing.

Typically, damages are awarded to paying customers who experience clear harm from inflated pricing. Here, the claim extends to non‑purchasers based on hypothetical willingness‑to‑pay calculations, a point contested by the dissenting tribunal justice.

Potential Outcomes

• Apple owes no damages at this point; the trial will determine whether it abused its position and gave iCloud preferential treatment on iOS.
• All UK consumers who are eligible are automatically included in the claim unless they opt out. Eligibility covers anyone who obtained iCloud services from 8 November 2018 to the present.
• Which? estimates an average payout of £70 per customer and wants Apple to settle without litigation by offering refunds and opening iOS to let users choose any cloud provider.