Apple faces multi-state investigation for ‘deceptive consumers,’ and Texas attorney general can sue
- Multiple states in the United States are investigating Apple for potentially misleading customers
- Texas attorney general can sue tech giant for violating state’s deceptive business practices law
- The probe was revealed by a technology watchdog group.
- No additional details were provided on the ways Apple potentially misled customers.
- No information was provided on the other states involved.
- Apple shares fell 4.3 percent on Thursday when the news broke.
Several states in the United States are investigating Apple Inc for potentially misleading consumers, according to a March document obtained by a technology watchdog group.
The Texas attorney general can sue Apple for violating the state’s deceptive business practices law in connection with the multi-state investigation, according to the document, which was obtained by the Technology Transparency Project.
The document, obtained through a public records request, did not provide additional details and it is not certain what other states are involved.
Apple shares fell 4.3 percent and the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell as the news unfolded.
Several US states are said to be investigating Apple Inc for potentially misleading consumers, according to a document released by a tech watchdog group. No further details on the practices under investigation were provided. In the photo, an Apple store in China
According to the document provided to Axios, the Texas AG Consumer Protection Division “initiated this investigation for enforcement purposes.”
‘If violations are discovered, CPD will initiate enforcement procedures. Consequently, the OAG anticipates litigation in this matter, ” he added.
The Texas consumer protection law works to detect company practices that are considered false, misleading, or deceptive.
It is unclear what Apple practices are being investigated.
The Texas attorney general’s office declined to comment.
A spokesperson told Axios that he had a “long-standing OAG policy” not to “comment, confirm or deny any pending or potential investigation.”
The statement came despite the state’s public role in a similar Google investigation.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
According to Axios, the Technology Transparency Project received the document after a request for communications related to Apple or to Apple employees or representatives.
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, can sue Apple, according to the document.
The March document was obtained by the Technological Transparency Project. It revealed that the Texas attorney general can sue Apple for violating the state’s deceptive business practices law in connection with the multi-state investigation, but did not provide further information.
The company is already facing antitrust investigations from the United States House of Representatives and the European Union.
On Monday, CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google will testify before the House Judiciary Committee at the end of a month-long investigation into whether tech companies misused their market dominance to unfairly suppress competition.
It is investigating whether companies have accumulated so much power that it is impossible for smaller competitors to establish themselves.
Apple has also faced consumer class action lawsuits alleging that it misled them about slowing down the performance of iPhones with old batteries.
The company agreed to pay up to $ 500 million to settle a lawsuit earlier this year.
He also faces lawsuits alleging that he knew and was hiding how the ‘butterfly’ keyboards on his MacBook laptops were prone to failure.
Shares in Apple fell more than 4.3 percent on Thursday when the news broke.
Stock markets had been trading slightly lower before Apple news on Thursday on concerns about the weakness in the labor market due to the coronavirus pandemic and deteriorating relations between the United States and China.
Along with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook and the father of Google Alphabet, they all fell.
The five stocks represent 22 percent of the S&P 500’s market capitalization and have returned about 35 percent this year, compared with a 5 percent decline for the remaining stocks in the benchmark index.
It occurs when states intensify their scrutiny of big tech companies. Google and Facebook have also faced multistate antitrust probes.
The Justice Department is also considering an antitrust lawsuit against Google, and Amazon and Facebook are under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
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