The Apple logo is seen on an Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
By Benoit Berthelot
France’s antitrust regulator fined Apple Inc. €150 million ($162 million) after a lengthy probe into how the technology company asks to collect iOS users’ data and the impact on advertisers.
Apple’s app tracking transparency system is not allowing app-makers to comply with Europe’s GDPR privacy rules, the Autorité de la Concurrence said on Monday, forcing these apps to display multiple pop-ups and making their use excessively complex.
The outcome could attract the attention of US President Donald Trump, who has warned he’d strike back with heavy tariffs following any “disproportionate” penalties against American tech firms.
Apple said it is “disappointed” with the decision and that the regulator hasn’t asked for specific changes to the ATT framework, in an emailed statement. The plaintiffs, which are a group of trade associations representing advertisers, called for Apple to “immediately suspend” the system and make changes to it.
The regulator said that Apple’s ATT framework was “neither necessary nor proportionate” in a text of its decision. It said the framework in itself was not “problematic,” however, the way it was implemented is “abusive within the meaning of competition law.”
French competition officials investigating the case examined whether Apple applied less stringent rules to itself than to other services. The case was opened after a group of advertisers brought a complaint to the regulator, claiming the changes to data collection that came into effect in 2021 would harm their revenues.
Apple said the framework “gives users more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand prompt,” adding that it is consistent for all developers.
Similar investigations are underway in Germany, Poland, Italy, Romania.