Apple has been fined €150 million ($162 million) by France’s competition watchdog for its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework. The French Autorité de la concurrence accused Apple of abusing its dominant position in mobile app advertising between 2021 and 2023. ATT, introduced by Apple, requires apps to request users’ consent to access their device’s advertising identifier for targeted ads.
While the purpose of ATT was not seen as problematic, the way it was implemented raised concerns about its proportionality and necessity.
The French regulator pointed out that ATT’s design was overly complex, making it harder for third-party app developers to gain user consent. The pop-up consent prompts used by third-party apps were seen as intrusive, giving Apple an unfair market advantage. Unlike third-party apps, Apple’s apps only required users to check a single box for consent, which was less disruptive than the multiple pop-ups faced by external publishers.
This inconsistency was viewed as harmful to smaller developers dependent on data collection for revenue.
Apple was also criticized for reselling personal data from users who consented to tracking, profiting from it in targeted advertising. The regulator emphasized that the implementation of ATT created an imbalance in the market, harming publishers financially. Despite these findings, the French authorities did not order Apple to change its framework but imposed the fine for violating competition laws.
The fine, although significant, is relatively small compared to Apple’s financial standing, with the company reporting $124 billion in revenue for the last quarter of 2024. Apple expressed disappointment with the ruling but maintained that it had received strong support for ATT from consumers and data protection authorities worldwide.
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