Which? given green light in £3b collective action against Apple

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a £3 billion lawsuit by the consumer group Which? against Apple over its iCloud storage service, clearing the way for a collective action representing nearly 40 million UK consumers. Which? filed the claim in November 2024 and was granted a collective proceedings order (CPO) after the tribunal rejected Apple's attempt to block parts of the case.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple abused its dominant position by trapping device users within its iCloud ecosystem through technical restrictions, tying the service to iOS devices, and using system designs to steer users away from independent providers, thereby weakening competition and inflating prices.

Which?'s website claims that UK Apple iOS users "aren't offered any alternative cloud providers. And, even if they were, iPhone users are tied to iCloud because they cannot store or back up all of their phone’s data with a third-party provider, as Apple doesn't allow certain data to be stored other than on iCloud."

Apple responded, saying the claims are unfounded and maintaining that customers are not required to use iCloud and have plenty of alternatives. The case covers UK users of the service between November 2018 and June 2026. If successful, Which? estimates potential individual payouts of up to £77 per person.

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