Apple has been slapped with a $162 million fine by French antitrust authorities for using a privacy feature to prevent competition from accessing its users.
The French Competition Authority said Apple relied on its App Tracking Transparency (ATT), which ensures users have consent before applications can track their movement and activities.
Apple wrongfully implemented its ATT
Findings by the FCA show that Apple went beyond protecting user data in a way that contravened the country’s competition laws. Because of this, the iPhone maker was benefitting as a competitor in mobile applications adverts.
The feature was introduced in 2021 for iPhone and iPad users, and according to the French watchdog, “While the objective pursued by ATT is not in itself open to criticism, the way it is implemented is neither necessary nor proportionate to Apple’s stated objective of protecting personal data.”
Details of the ruling were published earlier today in a statement. In addition to the fine, Apple is supposed to publish the decision on its platforms for a week, marking the end of a long-running case covering the period 2021 to 2023.
Advertisers, including Alliance Digitale, the Syndicat des Regies Internet (SRI), the Union des Entreprises de Conseil et d’Achat Média (Udecam) and the Groupement des Éditeurs de Services en Ligne had raised concerns about this function, which caused multiple notification windows to pop up, affecting the user experience of several applications.
Through the ATT users would be able to disable pop-up adverts, which are a key revenue point for free applications and advertisers.
The complaining collective described the decision as a victory for advertisers. In a statement, Apple expressed disappointment at the FCA’s decision.
“While we are disappointed with today’s decision, the French Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to ATT.”
– Apple
Apple said if there are any changes to the function, user privacy will be affected.
“App Tracking Transparency gives users more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand prompt about one thing: tracking. 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,” Apple added.
More trouble awaits Apple in Europe
According to reports, several other European countries, including Germany, Italy, Romania, and Poland, are also investigating this tool. Should Apple be found guilty, it is likely to face heavy fines, and there could be recommendations on how it can adjust the ATT function for compliance.
There are fears that cases of this nature could trigger a penalty war with the United States after President Donald Trump promised revenge on countries that are heavily fining American tech firms—a category Apple falls under.
However, the head of the FCA, Benoit Coeuré, allayed such fears during a press conference, saying the authority was only applying “competition law in an apolitical manner.”
“But what we have heard…is that they (US authorities) intend to apply antitrust law to the big digital platforms as strictly as their predecessors,” he said.
“So, in terms of antitrust, I don’t see any controversy between the United States and Europe on how we apply the law.”
– Coeuré.
Coeuré also revealed that while the regulator had not spelt out how Apple should change its app, it was up to the company to ensure it complies with the regulatory requirements.
This is not the first time Apple has been heavily fined for anti-competitive behaviour through the ATT tool. It comes a year after the European Union fined the iPhone maker 1.8 billion euros for throttling a competitor streaming service on the Apple Store.
Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More
