Italy’s antitrust regulator has opened another inquiry into Apple for allegedly improper commercial practices with regards to cloud computing services. The investigation will also look into cloud storage services operated by Dropbox and Google.
All three cloud storage services are being investigated over complaints of unfair practices related to the collection of user data for commercial purposes, such as a lack of proper notice or valid consent for such commercial data collection.
Italian watchdog opens third inquiry into Apple
In a press release announcing the probe, the AGCM says it’s opened six investigations in all. The services of concern are Google’s Drive, iCloud, and the Dropbox cloud storage service.
“The proceedings relate to alleged improper commercial practices and the possible inclusion of unfair clauses in contract conditions,” the AGCM said in a statement.
As well as allegations of unfair commercial practices, the regulator said it’s looking into complaints of violations of Italy’s Consumer Rights Directive. A further complaint alleges the presence of frivolous clauses in the contract.
The investigation is the third by the AGCM into the tech giant. In July, the AGCM began scrutinizing Apple and Amazon over allegations that the two companies prevented the sale of Apple and Beats devices to resellers to quash competition.
Additionally, a previous AGCM probe investigated the company for iPhone battery slowdowns, which the antitrust watchdog said was a form of planned discontinuance. It subsequently demanded a 10 million euro fine from the Cupertino tech giant as a sanction. Each investigation is separate and operated irrespective of other ongoing investigations.
The L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) did not release further information or state how long the investigation would take, and the tech giant has yet to comment on the matter.
This latest antitrust investigation comes at a time where the Cupertino tech giant is facing many other inquiries into its practices regarding some of its services including the App Store, Apple Pay, and more.
via Reuters
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