French officials are currently looking into Apple for potential product obsolesce. The inquiry began in December 2022 and is connected to Apple’s practise of connecting the serial numbers of repair parts to the serial numbers of iPhones, iPads, and Macs, as reported by the French news media AFP News and corroborated by Reuters.
The “Stop Planned Obsolescence” organisation, also known as the HOP association, filed a complaint, according to AFP News, sparking the investigation. The group complains about Apple’s serialised repair strategy, claiming the business is “associating the serial numbers of spare parts to those of a smartphone.”
A representative for the Paris prosecutor in France acknowledged the judicial investigation and reiterated that the HOP association’s complaint served as the impetus for the probe in a follow-up statement to Reuters. The prosecutor stated, “Following a complaint, an investigation into deceptive marketing practices and programmed obsolescence was initiated in December 2022.
Customers must input the serial number of the iPhone they are ordering parts for in Apple’s self-service repair programme. To get credit from Apple for the returned part, the input serial number must coincide with the serial number of the returned part.
