- France fines Apple €150 million for unfair implementation of its App Tracking Transparency feature, citing harm to third-party publishers.
- Regulator finds Apple’s privacy tool non-neutral, requiring double opt-outs and favoring its own ad services over competitors.
- Wider European scrutiny grows, with similar investigations underway in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania.
France’s Competition Authority has imposed a €150 million ($162 million) fine on Apple over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, accusing the tech giant of unfair practices that harm third-party app developers and advertisers. The regulator concluded that Apple’s implementation of the privacy feature was neither necessary nor proportionate to its goal of protecting user data and resulted in economic disadvantages for other digital publishers.
Introduced in 2021, ATT requires iOS apps to seek user permission before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. However, the French authority found that Apple’s process required users to opt out of tracking twice, creating unnecessary friction. By contrast, Apple’s own advertising services were not subjected to the same constraints, raising concerns of self-preferencing and an uneven competitive landscape.
The French ruling emphasized that Apple’s system disrupted the user experience with excessive consent prompts for third-party apps and placed a disproportionate burden on smaller publishers. These companies rely heavily on targeted advertising revenue and were particularly impacted by the reduced access to user data, the watchdog said. Apple has been ordered to publish the decision prominently on its French website for one week.
The ruling comes amid wider European scrutiny of ATT, with similar investigations launched in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania. Regulatory actions across the EU reflect growing concern that Apple’s privacy tools may also function as competitive barriers, undercutting rivals in the advertising market while appearing to champion user privacy.
This fine adds to the series of penalties levied by European regulators against major U.S. tech companies. While Apple expressed disappointment with the decision, it noted that the French authority had not mandated changes to ATT. Despite the financial penalty, Apple maintains that the feature enhances user privacy by giving consumers a transparent choice about data tracking, a stance that continues to draw both support and criticism globally.
