Apple
loading...

A class-action antitrust lawsuit against Apple claims that from 2007-2009 Apple deleted music that from users' iPods that was downloaded from iTunes competitors. According to the Wall Street Journal,  the plaintiffs suit, which is being brought to the court by attorney Patrick Coughlin, says that when a user who had downloaded music from a rival service tried to sync an iPod to the user's iTunes library, Apple would display an error message and tell the user to restore the device's factory settings. When the settings were restored, the music downloaded from rival services would be gone. The plaintiffs say that Apple would mislead them by not telling them about the problem.

"You guys decided to give [users] the worst possible experience," said Coughlin.

Plaintiffs are seeking $350 million in damages, a figure that could triple in value if the court rules against Apple.

Apple security director Augustin Farrugia testified in court saying that, "We don't need to give users too much information...We don't want to confuse users." Farrugia also claimed that updates that deleted non-Apple music files were used to protect consumers from hackers. "The system was totally hacked," said Farrugia.

Apple has declined to comment outside of court.

[Wall Street Journal]
Related: Apple Reportedly Relaunching Beats Music As Part Of iTunes Next Year
Beats Music Is iTunes' Top Music App
Kid Cudi Releases 'Satellite Flight' Album On iTunes

More From XXL