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After initially dismissing a proposed class action lawsuit over Apple’s allegedly forcing users to use iCloud, a judge has now accepted further evidence and ruled that the case must continue.
Originally filed in March 2024, the class action complaint accused Apple of violations the Sherman Act and the Clayton act. The allegation is that Apple has established “an illegal monopoly” because of its requiring Apple device users to use its iCloud backup.
A year later in March 2025, US District Judge Eumi Lee in San Jose, California, dismissed the case. However, she allowed that the plaintiffs could file an amended case, and according to Reuters, they have now done so.
Judge Lee has furthermore ruled that the consumers involved in the case have added substantial new allegations. While Apple had defended itself in part by arguing that users were free to use alternative storage, the new complaint focuses on elements such as settings data, which are restricted to iCloud.
Apple’s lawyers originally also maintained that the complaint was what was described as untimely. This is because plaintiffs ordinarily have a four-year window to sue under US antitrust law.
According to the court’s new full filing, Judge Lee ruled that the case was timely because the main plaintiff sued within four years of her first iCloud purchase.
However, despite Judge Lee describing that timeliness claim as being premature, she has allowed that it may be revisited later. This is “because it is unclear when Plaintiffs’ claims accrued and whether Apple engaged in a continuing antitrust violation.”
Regarding the issue of how Apple says users are able to choose alternative cloud storage, the revised complaint argues that the company coerces its customers into choosing iCloud. The reasoning here is that few buyers choose alternatives, even though the Plaintiffs allege that iCloud is inferior to these other offerings.
Apple has not commented on the new decision. It is now required to file a response to the court by July 7, 2025.
