France’s anti-trust regulator fines Apple 150 million euros over privacy feature
The French Competition Authority said Apple had abused its dominant position in the distribution of mobile applications for iOS and iPad devices.
France’s anti-trust watchdog has fined Apple 150 million euros (£125 million) over a privacy feature protecting users from apps snooping on them because its introduction resulted in abuse of competition law.
The French Competition Authority said the aim of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) requiring iPhone and iPad apps to ask users for permission before tracking them was not in itself open to criticism.
But it ruled that the “way in which it was implemented was neither necessary nor proportionate to Apple’s stated objective of protecting personal data”.
Apple rolled out ATT starting in April 2021 as part of an update to the operating system powering the iPhone and iPad.
