Some of Apple Inc’s repair policies are against China's laws and harm consumers' rights, Shanghai Daily reported Friday.

According to the China Consumers Association, some of Apple's repair clauses regarding personal data protection, information use and compensation were left unchanged in the latest version of its after-sales service policy following similar accusations that were lodged by the association in June.

One of the clauses states that users should copy data and remove anything confidential or exclusive before sending Apple's products for repair.

"Apple specifically does not warrant that it will be able to repair or replace your product without risk to or loss of programs or data and maintain the confidentiality of data," the association says.

The association said repair operators are liable for maintaining the confidentiality of business or personal information, as required by China's appliance repair rules.

Thus "Apple should be responsible for keeping the secrecy of data stored in its products during repair," it said.

"Most unfair clauses have yet to be addressed or corrected," the CCA said, suggesting that Apple's recent revisions were not enough to fix the issues.

Apple promises in its customer privacy policy to take precautionary measures, both administratively and technically, to prevent loss, misuse, exposure or damage of personal information, which means it has the capability to protect personal data, the association said.

In total, ten of Apple's repair clauses are said to be "unfair" by the association. It urges Apple to abide by Chinese laws and respect the legal rights of Chinese consumers.

Apple could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Experts said the adjustments made by Apple are small and vaguely worded.

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