Apple, the tech giant renowned for its sleek devices and tight ecosystem, has just been hit with a hefty €98.6 million ($115 million) fine in Italy. The reason? Allegedly abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market, specifically through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy.
Introduced in 2021, ATT was designed to give users more control, requiring apps to ask for your explicit consent before collecting data for advertising. Sounds good, right? Well, Italy’s competition authority (AGCM) found a problem with *how* Apple implemented it.
According to the AGCM, Apple forced app developers to ask users for consent *twice* for the very same purpose. This “double consent” approach, they argue, doesn’t actually meet privacy legislation requirements and unfairly limits data collection essential for personalized advertising. Think of it: if an app can’t easily show you relevant ads, it impacts their business model.
The authority concluded that Apple’s policy was “disproportionate” to its stated privacy goals, suggesting the same level of user protection could have been achieved with a simpler, single-step consent process. They believe Apple, holding a “super-dominant” position in the iOS app market, used these terms to harm its commercial partners – the third-party app developers and advertisers who rely on its platform.
While Apple maintains ATT is a crucial measure to protect user privacy, Italy’s ruling suggests that even privacy-focused policies from dominant players need to be fair and balanced for the entire digital ecosystem. This isn’t just about privacy; it’s about competition.
Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/italy-fines-apple-115m-over-app-store-privacy-violations/3778041
