France launches investigation against of the American technology giant Apple officials announced Tuesday. The investigation concerns the difficulties that Apple theoretically causes for consumers in the process of repairing iPhones, as well as the “planned obsolescence” of the devices.

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office announced that the National Investigation Service of the Directorate-General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) launched legal proceedings in December 2022 following a lawsuit filed against the company by the consumer association Halt Planned Obsolescence (HOP). .

The suit accuses Apple of obstructing the repair of its mobile components and dictating practices that make it difficult for unauthorized companies to repair them.

Apple is accused of not making the required hardware available to the user at an affordable price and time. The French consumer association called on Apple to “guarantee the right to repair mobiles under the logic of a true circular economy”.

In 2020, Apple paid up a fine of 25 million euros to close an investigation launched in France into defrauding users by slowing down iPhones’ processors through a software update.