Apple Fined €150 Million by French Antitrust Watchdog Over Privacy Feature

Apple has been hit with a €150 million ($162 million) fine by France’s Competition Authority over the implementation of its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which regulators say violated competition laws. According to a statement from the authority, while the privacy-focused feature was not inherently problematic, the way Apple introduced it created an unfair competitive advantage.

The ATT feature, which debuted in April 2021, was designed to give iPhone and iPad users more control over their personal data by requiring apps to request permission before tracking their activity for personalized advertising. However, per a statement from the French Competition Authority, the method Apple employed was deemed “neither necessary nor proportionate” to its stated goal of protecting user privacy.

The fine penalizes Apple for alleged abuse of its dominant market position in mobile app distribution between April 2021 and July 2023. Despite its substantial amount, the fine is relatively small compared to Apple’s earnings, as the tech giant generated $124 billion in revenue in just the last quarter of the previous year.

Read more: French Regulators Investigate Apple’s App Tracking Transparency for Antitrust Violations

According to a statement from the authority, Apple’s implementation of ATT resulted in a flood of consent requests from third-party applications, which created an “excessively complex” user experience on iOS devices. Additionally, the watchdog expressed concerns over the system’s neutrality, arguing that it disproportionately affected smaller developers reliant on third-party data collection for revenue generation.

In response, Apple defended ATT, stating that the feature empowers users with greater privacy control through a standardized and easy-to-understand prompt. “That prompt is consistent for all developers, including Apple, and we have received strong support for this feature from consumers, privacy advocates, and data protection authorities around the world,” the company said. Apple also emphasized that the ruling does not mandate any changes to ATT, though it expressed disappointment in the decision.

The case underscores the ongoing tension between regulators and major tech firms over digital privacy and competition policies.

Source: CNY Home Page