In a dramatic legal clash that could shake the foundations of Big Tech accountability, Apple is fighting for its life in a San Jose federal courtroom — demanding the dismissal of a bombshell class action lawsuit accusing it of deceiving shareholders not once, but twice.
The jaw-dropping allegations? That Apple brazenly overstated the AI capabilities of its iconic Siri voice assistant while simultaneously misleading investors about its compliance with a court-ordered injunction tied to its bitter war with Epic Games over app store commissions.
In a fiery Wednesday filing, Apple pushed back hard, insisting there’s zero proof it knew — when it took the stage at a high-profile June 2024 conference to hype its AI ambitions — that two cutting-edge Siri features would fall dangerously behind schedule, potentially torpedoing iPhone 16 sales. The cracks began to show when Apple quietly delayed Siri upgrades, and CEO Tim Cook was eventually forced to admit the company’s vision of a “more personal” Siri was “taking a bit longer than we thought.” An understatement that sent shockwaves through Wall Street.
But the drama doesn’t stop there. Apple is also battling accusations over its handling of a 2021 court order — born from its explosive legal battle with Epic Games — which demanded it allow app users to pay developers directly, bypassing Apple’s notorious 30% commission stranglehold. A judge later scorched Apple for gaming the system with a sneaky 27% commission on external sales, though a federal appeals court partially came to Apple’s rescue in December.
Now, a coalition of furious shareholders — led by none other than South Korea’s National Pension Service, one of the most powerful financial forces on the planet with nearly $1 trillion in assets — is demanding justice. They claim Apple’s alleged deceptions wiped out potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in shareholder value between May 2024 and May 2025.
Apple, characteristically defiant, isn’t backing down. “It is no secret that Apple faced challenges and weathered ups and downs in its stock price in 2025, like many major companies,” the company declared, swinging back at what it called a “massive and unsupported leap” connecting stock price drops to securities fraud.
The stage is set. The stakes are astronomical. And the outcome could redefine how the world’s most valuable company answers — or escapes — accountability.
