Apple has been hit with a class action lawsuit filed by consumers who want their iPhones unlocked from AT&T's network. Two consumers filed the lawsuit last week in the U.S. District Court in Northern California. They allege that Apple violated Sherman Act by not obtaining consumers' contractual consent to have their phones locked to AT&T's network. They also allege that Apple violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because it installed software on iPhones that prevented owners from using them on competing networks. The DMCA has a provision that allows handset owners to modify their devices for use on other networks, claim the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages and want Apple to supply unlock codes on request; want Apple to be barred from installing software on iPhones that prevents them from being unlocked; and want Apple to more fully disclose to consumers that their devices are locked to the carrier's network. Apple has not commented on the lawsuit.


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