Planned obsolescence: investigation opened in France after a complaint against Apple

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS / DPA / DPA PICTURE-ALLIANCE VIA AFP 19:03 p.m., May 15, 2023

An investigation was opened in December 2022 for misleading commercial practices and planned obsolescence after a complaint filed by the French association Stop Planned Obsolescence (HOP) against the American smartphone giant Apple, said Monday the Paris prosecutor's office. The investigations into this complaint denouncing a defective repairability of apple devices were entrusted to the national investigation service of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), according to the prosecutor's office, which confirmed an announcement by the association.

"Punish and dismantle the criminal nature of serialization practices"

In a statement, the latter said it hoped that this investigation would make it possible "to sanction and demonstrate the criminal nature of the serialization practices" of the American group. These practices consist of "associating the serial numbers of spare parts with that of a smartphone, in particular via microchips, giving the manufacturer the possibility to restrict repair for non-authorized repairers or to degrade a smartphone repaired with generic parts remotely," according to HOP. "On the occasion of the arrival in Paris of Tim Cook, Apple's CEO in a month for the VivaTech event, HOP calls on the smartphone manufacturer to guarantee the right to repairability of its devices in a logic of sincere circular economy," writes the association.

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Apple France could not immediately be reached by AFP for comment. In February 2020, Apple had agreed to pay in France a fine of 25 million euros as part of a criminal settlement, to end proceedings for deceptive marketing practices. An investigation had been opened in 2018, after a previous complaint by HOP which then denounced facts of premature and voluntary aging of old iPhones, the giant having acknowledged that it voluntarily curbed the performance of old models after a certain time, but with the aim according to him "to extend their lifespan".