French Antitrust Regulator Fines Apple $162 Million
France’s antitrust regulator has fined Apple €150 million ($162 million) for abusing its dominance in mobile app advertising through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system. ATT allows Apple users to decide what apps can track their activity. While the watchdog acknowledged Apple’s goal of protecting user privacy, it ruled that the way ATT was implemented was “neither necessary nor proportionate.”
The decision follows complaints from advertisers and publishers who argued that the system unfairly impacted smaller businesses reliant on third-party data collection. Critics claim the framework of ATT made it harder for advertisers to comply with Europe’s GDPR privacy rules, while Apple applied less stringent rules to itself. Despite the penalty, the regulator did not require Apple to make changes to the system but ordered the company to publish the decision on its website for seven days.
Apple expressed disappointment with the ruling, maintaining that ATT gives users “more control” over their data. The case adds to Apple’s ongoing regulatory battles in Europe, including a €1.8 billion fine last year for anti-competitive practices in the music streaming market.
