Apple’s failure to tell consumers that its software could slow performance in some iPhones has sparked Israel’s consumer protection agency to launch its own investigation.

The Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority said in a statement Tuesday it had questioned the head of Apple in Israel, Rony Friedman.

A spokesman at the authority said it had the power to levy significant fines in civil proceedings, but that it was too early to discuss such a possibility.

The move follows last December’s admission by Apple that it is slowing down older models of the iPhone, claiming it was in an effort to prevent random shutdowns. The iPhones affected are iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and iPhone 7.

The authority will allege that Apple did not provide customers with “essential” information on the software updates and may have therefore breached Israeli law regarding misdirection of customers.

As Breitbart Tech reported, the move came after users noticed the slower speeds of their older devices and started to complain.

So it’s true Apple intentionally slow down old iPhones. Proof: My iPhone 6 was bought 3years ago and recently got really slow. APP ‘CPU DasherX’ shows iPhone CPU is under clocked running at 600MHz. After a iPhone battery replacement. CPU speed resumed to factory setting 1400MHz. pic.twitter.com/pML3y0Jkp2 — Sam Si (@sam_siruomu) December 20, 2017

Critics say Apple concealed the fact that a worn-out battery not only fails to hold a charge but also degrades the phone’s performance – and that this lack of transparency has pushed people to replace their phone rather than their battery.

This theory has not gone unoticed by users:

Apple: “With every iOS update, we slow down older iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Battery capacity deteriorates over time” iPhone users: “Nah! You are doing this to make us buy new phones.” Apple: pic.twitter.com/1HWAMjHFTF — Professor Freez (@proffreez) December 21, 2017

Government agencies in countries ranging from Brazil to France and Italy to South Korea are also investigating Apple following similar complaints.

For its part, Apple maintains that it is all just a misunderstanding predicated on unreliable batteries.

“Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices,” the company declared after the problem was first exposed, explaining, “Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.”