Jason Reed/Reuters
Australia’s consumer watchdog is suing Apple for allegedly disabling people’s iPhones with a software update after repairs were made to the devices by third parties, Reuters reports. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in court documents filed Wednesday that Apple had disabled hundreds of tablets and smartphone devices and then refused to unlock them because customers had not sent them to Apple for repairs. “Consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law exist independently of any manufacturer’s warranty and are not extinguished simply because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement. The regulator said the incidents occurred between February 2014 and February 2016. Hundreds of customers allegedly downloaded software updates only to get a message saying their devices “could not be restored” and “had stopped functioning.” Customers were then told by Apple that “no Apple entity... was required to, or would, provide a remedy” free-of-charge, the regulator said. The ACCC slammed the U.S. computer giant for what it described as “misleading or deceptive conduct” and said it had “made false or misleading representations to consumers” about both software updates and the customers’ rights to have devices repaired. The regulator said it was seeking an undisclosed amount in fines and injunctions.