Apple gives MPs few answers on iPhone slowdown

OTTAWA — Representatives from Apple Inc. faced down members of the House committee on industry, science and technology on Thursday afternoon, telling MPs that while the company didn’t mean to mislead consumers about its slowing down of some older smartphones, it had learned its lesson about communicating clearly. “We need to talk to directly our customers and do it as soon as possible,” said Jacqueline Famulak, the manager of legal and government affairs at Apple Canada. “Lesson learned, you always have to listen to your customer and you need to react quickly when they have concerns.” That was it for concessions from the California electronics maker, though, frustrating some members of the committee seeking clarity on an issue that has been the genesis of multiple class-action lawsuits in Canada and the United States. After news and social media reports indicated some of its iPhone 6s devices were operating at lower speeds than expected, Apple acknowledged it had deliberately slowed down the devices, saying it was necessary to avoid “unexpected shutdowns” caused by ageing batteries, according to a note published on Apple’s website in late December. It also confirmed that a battery replacement would solve the speed issues. The company was then summoned in front of the committee in January. During Thursday’s appearance, MPs asked about whether the slowdowns were due to planned obsolescence and whether the company had profited from people who had decided to upgrade their devices instead of merely replacing the battery, which is a less obvious solution to the problem. Famulak denied that planned obsolescence was the driving factor of the slowdowns, and declined to provide the numbers that would reveal if more devices were purchased as a result. The questioning became slightly heated after Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith floated the proposition of needing a subpoena to get the answers he was seeking. Apple representatives also declined to provide the committee with details of internal discussions over whether to disclose the change in device speeds to consumers. “I’m not going to make that undertaking,” said Apple Canada’s attorney Simon Potter when Erskine-Smith asked for the information. “If the committee wants to make a direction about things, we’ll reconsider.” At that point, committee chairman and Liberal MP Dan Ruimy smoothed tensions, reminding the room that the witnesses were speaking voluntarily and could answer how they wished. Apple testified after Competition Bureau deputy commissioner Alexa Gendron-O'Donnell, and Primate Labs Inc.’s founder and president John Poole spoke to the committee. Poole was the author of an article published on the Toronto-based software developer’s blog outlining the technical evidence that supported the claims of slower phones. Primate Labs’ Geekbench software collects data about mobile device speed and responsiveness and produces ratings or scores of that data. According to graphics provided to the committee by Poole, after a software update in early 2017, iPhone 6s devices went from having one general benchmark score, to having a range of scores. Each of those new scores indicated a slower computer speed in the measured devices. Gendron-O'Donnell told the committee she could not confirm if the matter was under investigation by the bureau due to privacy rules. NDP MP Brian Masse, who was behind the call for Apple to answer about this issue at committee, told The Wire Report over the phone Friday afternoon he feels that Canada’s government is a step behind when it came to the holding major consumer product manufacturers accountable for their actions. “There seems to be much more of a robust legislator role in the United States and other countries,” in protection of consumers, said Masse. He also indicated he wasn’t impressed Apple sent representatives from its Canadian retail operation instead of from its U.S. headquarters, given it was the “conduct and behaviour” of executives in California under scrutiny at the hearing. Acknowledging the committee had only passed a one-day hearing motion, Masse said he didn’t know if there was interest in chasing Apple for more answers. But he said his party supports stronger approaches to consumer rights in the future and that he thinks there could be a more proactive approach to dealing with consumer issues. “With the age of challenging technology, we're not equipped as a legislative body to really deal with” holding tech companies accountable , Masse said. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story referred to Nathaniel Erskine-Smith as an NDP MP. — With reporting by Bryson Masse at bmasse@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Apple gives MPs few answers on iPhone slowdown

News | March 2, 2018

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Apple gives MPs few answers on iPhone slowdown

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