Apple Allegedly Deleted iPod Songs That Were Downloaded From Rivals Companies Between 2007 And 2009

Apple has come under fire for allegedly deleting songs of off consumers’ iPods because they were downloaded from non-Apple companies.

According to the details of a class action antitrust lawsuit, Apple allegedly deleted songs that were downloaded from sources not related to Apple from 2007 to 2009. The lawsuit also alleges that Apple deliberately removed these songs without granting any sort of notice to consumers. The lawsuit, which has been ongoing for roughly a decade, would award the plaintiffs about $350 million dollars, an amount that the plaintiffs of the case feel should cover the expenses they had to dish out to pay for Apple’s services.

Apple’s responded to the claims by stating that the deletions occurred as a method of preventing hackers, and that notices weren’t given to avoid consumer confusion. While the lack of notifying customers of the deletions seems a bit absurd, and the inherent dangers of the digital age are well-known to even the most technologically backwards individual, hacker prevention has been a significant issue in the digital age of music. Outside of the potentially sensitive information that puts consumers at risk, hacked music from “unreliable” sources also puts a damper on the music industry itself.

Recordings of testimony given by Steve Jobs were listened to earlier this week during the trial. There’s no official word yet as to when the trial can be expected to end.