Apple fined $162 million for tracking rules in iOS
The French antitrust authority has fined Apple €150 million ($162 million) for violating competition rules when implementing the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, Bloomberg reports.
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The ATT feature, launched in 2021 with iOS 14.5, requires apps to ask users for permission before tracking their activity in other apps and websites. If the user refuses, the app cannot use the identifier for advertisers (IDFA), which makes it difficult to display personalised ads.
The French regulators concluded that the ATT feature itself did not violate competition, but that the way Apple implemented it created an uneven playing field. For third-party developers, the company has complicated the process of collecting data for advertising, while its own advertising services operate without such restrictions. This, according to the regulator, gave Apple an advantage in the digital advertising market.
The investigation began in 2021 following a complaint from French advertising associations. As a result, Apple was fined and ordered to publish the regulator's decision on its website within seven days.
Apple responded by stating that ATT provides users with better control over their privacy, and the mechanism for requesting permissions is the same for all developers, including the company itself. At the same time, Apple did not say whether it would appeal the fine.
This decision could have wider implications for the company, as similar investigations into ATT are also underway in Germany, Italy, Romania, and Poland.
Source: Bloomberg
