Italy’s antitrust organization has launched two separate investigations against Apple and Samsung over accusations of planned obsolescence.

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, or AGCM, is trying to determine whether the two popular smartphone manufacturers are using software updates to slow down devices in order to influence customers to upgrade their phones. According to the group, Apple and Samsung may not offer enough information to customers as to the effects of software updates, and don’t offer details as to how installing them may slow down devices, which it says could violate several articles of Italy’s consumer protection code.

There’s no mention made to Apple’s recent admission that iOS software is intentionally slowing down phones with older batteries in order to maintain a usable level of performance, but it’s hard to imagine that the issue isn’t at least part of the impetus for the investigation. Apple is already facing a criminal probe over the battery slowdown issue in France, where planned obsolescence is illegal.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said this week that the next iOS update will allow users to disable the slowdown if they choose, and provide more transparent information as to the health of users’ batteries.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/18/16906658/apple-samsung-investigation-italian-antitrust-planned-obsolescence-software-slowdown