"If it turns out that consumers would have replaced their battery instead of buying new iPhones had they known the true nature of Apple's upgrades, you might start to have a better case for some sort of misrepresentation or fraud," said Rory Van Loo, a Boston University professor specializing in consumer technology law.But Chris Hoofnagle, faculty director for the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, said in an email that Apple may not have done wrong. "We still haven't come to consumer protection norms" around ageing products, Hoofnagle said. Pointing to a device with a security flaw as an example, he said, "the ethical approach could include degrading or even disabling functionality. "The lawsuits seek unspecified damages in addition to, in some cases, reimbursement. A couple of the complaints seek court orders barring Apple from throttling iPhone computer speeds or requiring notification in future instances.

Source: The Star December 27, 2017 01:41 UTC