French Competition Authority fined Apple €150 million ($162 million) for its App Tracking Transparency feature, citing anti-competitive behavior.
While ATT requires apps to seek user consent before tracking, regulators found that Apple applied stricter rules to third-party apps than to its own services, giving it an unfair advantage in digital advertising.
A ruling found that Apple’s implementation of ATT was neither necessary nor proportionate to its goal of protecting personal data.
Apple introduced ATT in April 2021 through an update to the iPhone and iPad operating system.
The feature requires apps to get user permission before collecting data for personalized ads. While intended to enhance privacy, it faced criticism from Big Tech rivals, who argued it could hurt smaller apps by limiting ad revenue and forcing them to charge users.
Apple was fined for abusing its dominance in mobile app distribution, covering the period from April 2021 to July 2023.
However, the penalty is minor for the company, which generated $124 billion in revenue in the last quarter of last year.
The watchdog noted that the feature’s rollout led to a flood of pop-ups from third-party apps seeking user consent. It criticized the surge in consent requests, calling it “excessively complex” for users navigating the iOS environment.
It also raised concerns about the system’s fairness, stating that it unfairly disadvantaged smaller publishers who depend on third-party data collection for revenue.
Apple defended ATT, stating that it enhances user privacy by providing 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,” the company said. “While we are disappointed with today’s decision, the French Competition Authority (FCA) has not required any specific changes to ATT.”
