Lawyer: Apple secretly deleted rival's music files from consumer iPods
Arguing for consumers in a class action iPod lawsuit against Apple, Attorney Patrick Coughlin accused the Cupertino company of deliberately deleting music files downloaded from competing music services. These files were removed from customer's iPods without their knowledge or consent between 2007 and 2009, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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 instruct the user to restore the factory settings, Coughlin said. When the user restored the settings, the music from rival services would disappear, he said.
Apple directed the system "not to tell users the problem," Coughlin said.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case argue this behavior supports their claim that Apple deliberately stifled competition in the then exploding music player and download market. The class-action suit seeks more than US$350 million in damages for this and other anti-competitive practices.
In its rebuttal, Apple claims the removals were legitimate security measures to prevent hacking that required no explanation. "We don't need to give users too much information," testified Apple security director Augustin Farrugia. "We don't want to confuse users."
Filed on behalf of iPod owners in the early 2000s, the decade-old class action lawsuit finally began this week in a Northern California court. Both Apple VP of Internet Services Eddy Cue and Marketing head Phil Schiller are expected to testify sometime this week. A deposition from Steve Jobs recorded in 2011 also is being aired as part of the proceedings.
