Jobs' Mob has stopped pushing a customer protection plan that customers really did not need, at least in Italy.

The AppleCare Protection Plan plan miffed Italy's antitrust authority, which threatened the US giant with a fine and a closure of its Italian operations if the company did not treat its customers in the same way as every other electronics outfit. Under EU law customers were allowed to have a free two-year warranty on electronic products. Apple on the other hand only allows a year and then sells a broader AppleCare Protection Plan.

Apple has been telling fanboys that the AppleCare product has advantages that "add to the two years of vendor warranty required by Italian law to protect consumers". The Anti-trust watchdog can't see any advantages at all. AppleCare appears to give punters the same things that European law requires only the customer has to pay for it.  

Apple has consistently fought against the EU consumer protection law because it does not want to implement a free two year warranty on a product when it wants users to buy an upgrade a year after they have bought it. Italy's antitrust watchdog AGCM has already clashed with Apple on over this before and has fined the outfit 900,000 euros for failing to offer the free guarantee.

A spokeswoman for AGCM said talks between Apple and the Italian regulator were still in progress. The regulator is expected to near a decision at the end of November. In the meantime Apple is not going to push its particular product in Italy.