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UK: Competition watchdog to probe cloud storage sector

By  |  November 30, 2015

An investigation is to be launched into whether internet users are being charged unfairly when they use cloud storage services.

The Competition and Markets Authority said some providers may be breaching consumer laws.

It will look into complaints that prices can go up after a customer has taken out a contract – or that the amount of data storage can be changed.

Users of lap-tops, mobiles and tablets are increasingly taking advantage of such services, to store photos, documents, TV programmes and films.

By storing such files in the cloud, rather than on the device itself, users get more memory, and the ability to access them from anywhere in the world.

Usually cloud storage providers offer a certain amount of memory for free, but can charge up to £40 a month for extra gigabytes.

Amongst the biggest providers are Dropbox, Google Drive and Apple’s iCloud.

Full content: The Financial Times

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