or collective action presented in San Jose, California The federal court on Friday claims that Apple's iCloud storage service keeps important files exclusively within iCloud, which could create an environment that stifles competition and raises prices for consumers.

The proposed class consists of tens of millions of customers across the country.

Apple OFFERS buyers who purchase iPhone, iPad and other iCloud storage devices free of charge for up to 5 GB of data. Once a user reaches that cap, they must subscribe to iCloud+ from their Apple device to continue storing photos, files, backups and other features — for a monthly fee. In the United States, 50 GB of iCloud+ storage costs $0.99 per month, up to 12 TB of storage for $59.99 per month.

According to the lawsuit, although competing cloud providers, such as Microsoft and Dropbox, can host photos and videos taken on Apple devices, Apple blocks them from accessing certain restricted files that contain application and settings data, which be critical if a user needs to reset the device when switching. So a customer who uses Google's cloud platform to store their videos will still have to use iCloud to store limited files.

“As Apple knows, this is an unattractive option,” the lawsuit claims.

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The lawsuit attempts to thwart any attempts by Apple to explain that it keeps certain files restricted on security grounds, noting that Apple use the infrastructure from other companies to host iCloud data. For context, iCloud seems to apply similar security measures on Google Drive, and Apple's iCloud storage tiers are priced similarly to the competition. Meanwhile, 2TB of iCloud storage goes for $9.99, the same price that Dropbox AND Google Loading.

The lawsuit pointed to Apple's 80% profit margins for iCloud, which are 36% higher than the company's overall margins, and claimed that “Apple's restrictions can only be coherently explained as an attempt to stifle competition”. According to the lawsuit, Apple's iCloud produced “almost pure profit” for the company and was “undisciplined by competition.”

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Apple's services business, which includes subscriptions like iCloud, took a hit a record high last year and continues to grow. Apple announced in February that it earned $119.6 billion last quarter, up 2% year over year.

“Apple is reporting revenue growth for the December quarter driven by iPhone sales and an all-time record revenue in Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. stated at the time.