Germany’s antitrust authority has charged Apple with abusing its market dominance through its App Tracking Transparency tool, accusing the tech giant of giving itself an unfair advantage over competitors.
The move follows a three-year investigation by the Federal Cartel Office and could lead to daily fines if Apple fails to modify its business practices.
The ATT feature, introduced by Apple to allow users to block advertisers from tracking their activity across apps, has been criticized by Meta Platforms, app developers, and startups reliant on ad-based business models. According to Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, the tool “makes it far more difficult for competing app publishers to access the user data relevant for advertising.”
In response, Apple defended the feature, stating that it applies even stricter standards to itself than to third-party developers. “We … will continue to constructively engage with the Federal Cartel Office to ensure users continue to have transparency and control over their data,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
The case was prompted by complaints from industry groups representing publishers, broadcasters, advertisers, and ad tech firms. Thomas Höppner, a partner at law firm Hausfeld, which represents the complainants, called the charges “groundbreaking,” arguing that Apple’s policies have reduced consumer choice, increased costs for app developers, and limited protection against ad fraud—while boosting Apple’s own revenues.
