The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Apple Inc. violated securities laws concerning its disclosures about a software update that slowed older iPhone models, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.
The government has requested information from the company, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the probe is private. The inquiry is in early stages, they cautioned, and it’s too soon to conclude any enforcement will follow. Investigators are looking into public statements made by Apple on the situation, they added.
While the slowdown has frustrated consumers, U.S. investigators are concerned that the company may have misled investors about the performance of older phones.
A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment. An Apple spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. Shares of the company fell about 1 percent to $166.36 at 2:07 p.m. in New York trading. Apple’s stock has been under pressure amid reports of weaker-than-expected iPhone X sales ahead of its earnings report Thursday.
Several weeks ago, Apple said a software update released in early 2017 slowed down the performance of older iPhones models as a way to avoid the phones shutting down at random. When it released the update, the company hadn’t said the software would slow down the devices. In December, Apple apologized for not clearly communicating this information and vowed to release another update to mitigate the concern.