Apple has been hit with a €150 million ($162 million) fine by France’s competition authority over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, a move that adds pressure from multiple fronts as investigations in other EU countries gain traction.
The penalty, announced on Monday, stems from how the iPhone maker rolled out the ATT feature, which critics argue undermines competition by limiting third-party advertising while boosting Apple’s own ad services.
The fine reflects growing concern in the European Union about how dominant tech companies enforce privacy standards that may also act as commercial barriers.
In Apple’s case, regulators found that ATT, introduced in 2021, unfairly impacted rival app developers and publishers by making user consent harder for third parties to obtain.
ATT rollout triggers EU probes
French regulators said Apple’s ATT rollout was neither necessary nor proportionate to the company’s stated goal of protecting user privacy.
Although the tool asks users whether they want apps to track their activity across other apps and websites, the French Competition Authority found that the system was designed in a way that placed a heavier burden on third-party developers than on Apple itself.
One major issue was the number of consent pop-ups users encountered. While third-party apps were required to display the ATT prompt, Apple’s own advertising services were integrated in a way that required less user effort to accept.
Users had to opt out of ad tracking twice in Apple’s own settings, which the French watchdog said undermined the feature’s neutrality.
Apple has also been ordered to publish the decision on its website for seven days, a standard measure in France for competition-related rulings.
The French investigation originated from industry complaints filed in 2021. While emergency action was denied at the time, the regulator pursued a full-scale probe that has now led to financial penalties.
Smaller publishers lose ad revenue
In its ruling, France’s authority emphasised the disproportionate economic impact ATT had on smaller app developers and ad service providers.
These smaller players typically rely on third-party data collection for revenue generation through targeted advertising.
Apple’s changes disrupted these practices, cutting off access to Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) if users declined consent via the ATT prompt.
This restriction effectively altered the dynamics of the mobile advertising market, where Apple’s rivals found themselves operating under stricter conditions.
Apple, on the other hand, retained certain capabilities for its own ads within the App Store and other services.
The competition body argued that ATT’s dual opt-out process placed unnecessary hurdles in front of users and made it more likely that they would remain in Apple’s ecosystem, giving the company an edge in the mobile ad space.
Investigations spread to 4 countries
The fine is part of broader scrutiny in Europe.
Competition authorities in Germany, Italy, Romania, and Poland have each launched similar investigations into ATT, reflecting concerns that Apple may be favouring its own services in ways that violate local and EU-wide competition laws.
These investigations focus not only on ATT’s technical implementation but also on the market power Apple holds through its control of iOS, the App Store, and user access to device-level data.
While the French authority acted independently, any eventual findings from these additional countries could fuel coordinated EU action or raise the possibility of further fines and regulatory measures.
Apple’s privacy tool under fire
Apple introduced ATT in April 2021 as part of iOS 14.5, presenting it as a privacy-focused feature aimed at giving users control over how apps track their online behaviour.
The move was widely welcomed by privacy advocates, but triggered immediate backlash from advertisers and app developers.
Since the rollout, Apple’s ad business has grown significantly, driven in part by increased reliance on the App Store’s native ad network.
Critics argue that Apple’s design choices favour its own ecosystem while making it harder for competitors to maintain viable advertising models.
Although the ATT framework technically applies to all apps, the French Competition Authority said Apple was not held to the same standard as others when it came to gaining user consent, thus violating the principle of fair access and harming competition.
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