The question is "Are they making a profit from serving their customers or from preying upon them?" When you have a perfectly repairable device with a customer's precious and irreplaceable vacation photos and you know someone who can help them, even if you don't want to get into that, you recommend a third party who can make your customer happy.
Instead, Apple's smooth Ex-Lax move is to make the customer very angry at Apple and unlikely to ever purchase another Apple product again. Yes, this is a self-correcting psychosis, but before Apple corrects its folly, they will have injured thousands of their customers.
I believe that government should not get involved in business. But here we have a clear system of abuse that a responsible government would step in and regulate. All that's probably necessary is the suggestion that regulation might be looked at and Apple would scramble to change their ways. Speak softly and carry a big stick.
As it stands, Apple is slandering legitimate repair businesses who could help 95% of people with broken iPhones and Macbooks and iPads, by telling their customers that these businesses can't restore their data and recovery isn't just something Apple doesn't want to get into, it's impossible. The businesses who can legitimately recover the data (Jessa Jones only charges IF she recovers your data. If she's unsuccessful then there is no charge.) are called crooks, frauds and blackmailers: exactly the qualities belonging to itself that Apple is projecting on people who seek to help its customers. Apple commits fraud by slandering these legitimate, successful, honest and hard working companies.
Part of government's legitimate job is to eliminate fraudulent, coercive, anti-customer acts of businesses that exist by preying upon their customers instead of serving their needs.
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