Apple has been slapped with a €150 million ($162.4 million) fine by France’s competition watchdog over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework.
The ruling, announced on Monday, accuses the tech giant of abusing its position by imposing unfair restrictions on mobile app developers.
At the heart of the issue is Apple’s ATT system, which since 2021 has required apps to obtain explicit user permission before tracking activity across multiple platforms.
While regulators acknowledged that the policy was designed to protect privacy, they ruled that its execution unfairly restricted competition, particularly hurting smaller businesses reliant on digital advertising.
The French Competition Authority’s decision adds to Apple’s current issues in Europe. Just last year, the European Commission fined the company €1.8 billion for anti-competitive practices related to music streaming services.
Meanwhile, regulatory bodies in Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania are conducting their own investigations into Apple’s ATT system, which could lead to further penalties.
In response to the ruling, Apple stated: “While we are disappointed with today’s decision, the French Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to ATT.” However, French regulators maintain that Apple’s implementation of the privacy tool “particularly penalised smaller publishers” and was neither necessary nor proportionate to the company’s stated objective of safeguarding personal data.
The complaint that led to this fine was lodged by several advertising and media organisations, including Alliance Digitale and the Syndicat des Régies Internet.
They argued that Apple’s policy created an uneven playing field, making it harder for third-party advertisers to compete while allowing Apple’s own ad business to thrive.
Benoît Cœuré, head of the French Competition Authority, dismissed talks that the decision might provoke backlash from U.S. authorities, particularly amid ongoing tensions between American tech firms and European regulators.
“We apply competition law in an apolitical manner,” he stated. “But what we have heard… is that they [U.S. authorities] intend to apply antitrust law to the big digital platforms as strictly as their predecessors.”
Apple may have to adjust its practices depending on the outcomes of ongoing investigations in other European countries, ensuring a balance between protecting user privacy and fair competition in digital markets.
