A class action suit has been brought against Apple for allegedly deleting music from rival services on iPods. The incidents happened between 2007 and 2009, although it is only now being brought before the court. Apple itself does not deny the accusation, but instead claims that it was part of a security feature.
During the time frame, users who tried to sync non-iTunes songs to their iPods would receive an error message asking them to restore the device to factory settings. After the fix is applied, the offending songs will have been quitely removed without informing the user. Attorney Patrick Coughlin, who is representing the plaintiffs, also said that Apple directed the system to not inform users of the problem.
Apple has stated that the move was a legitimate security measure, as it was extremely worried about people attempting to hack the music player. Not keeping users informed of the change was done because the company did not want to “give users too much information” and it didn’t want to “confuse users”.
The suit is seeking some US$350 million for the anti-competitive measures, with some also claiming that the move made them pay more for iPods. Apple itself has not commented about the case.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
