With antitrust probes currently knocking on Apple’s door, the company is now facing a multi-state consumer protection probe as well.
The breaking news comes from Axios on Thursday, saying that multiple states, being led by the Texas attorney general, are behind a new consumer protection probe aiming to investigate whether or not Apple is willfully deceiving consumers. Specifically, the Texas AG may sue Apple for what it has determined is violations of the state’s deceptive trade practices law, which may be the result of a multi-state investigation.
From the report:
The Texas attorney general may sue Apple for violating the state’s deceptive trade practices law in connection with a multi-state investigation, according to the document, obtained by the Tech Transparency Project through a public records request and shared with Axios Thursday.
- The Texas AG’s Consumer Protection Division “initiated this investigation for enforcement purposes. If violations are uncovered, CPD will initiate enforcement proceedings. Accordingly, the OAG anticipates litigation in this matter,” the document reads.
- The state’s consumer protection law polices practices deemed false, deceptive or misleading.
Unfortunately, the finer details on what’s going on here are still light. So if there is more going on here, that remains unknown. What Apple did, specifically, to work up the Texas AG is not known at this time, either. The law referenced in the complaint against the company covers a lot of things, including businesses that practice false, misleading, or deceptive efforts. Which of these Apple falls into is the mystery at the moment.
The paperwork was filed in March, and it’s July now, so it’s possible that whatever was happening here has already blown over. Or, on the other hand, it’s the government so this could very well still be in the works and Apple could be on the receiving end of a major lawsuit from the Texas attorney general in the near future.
Neither the Texas AG or Apple would respond to comment when requested by Axios.
It will be interesting to see what comes from this, if anything at all.