French watchdog hits Apple with €150m fine over tracking system
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The news: France’s antitrust watchdog fined Apple €150 million ($258.1 million) over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, saying the “way in which it was implemented was neither necessary nor proportionate” to Apple’s stated objective of protecting personal data, and that it was “abusive within the meaning of competition law”.
The context: The fine is the first issued by any antitrust body globally over ATT. It covers the period from April 2021 to July 2023 and followed complaints from several associations for online advertisers, publishers and internet networks.
The regulator has not required Apple to make specific changes, but its president, Benoît Cœuré, said it is now up to the company to ensure compliance.
Asked about concerns the decision could prompt retaliation from US President Donald Trump, who has threatened tariffs on EU countries penalising American firms, Cœuré said, “We apply competition law in an apolitical manner.”
Similar investigations into ATT are ongoing in Germany, Poland, Italy and Romania.
What they said: The French regulator said ATT was “not in itself open to criticism,” but its implementation forced apps to display multiple consent pop-ups, making usage “excessively complex” and harming competition. It said the tool “particularly penalised smaller publishers” dependent on third-party data.
Apple said in response that it was “disappointed with today’s decision” and that ATT “gives users more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand prompt”, applied consistently to all developers, including Apple.
The complainants, including Alliance Digitale, SRI, Udecam and the Groupement des Éditeurs de Services en Ligne, called the decision a significant win for advertisers.
The sources: French Competition Authority, Bloomberg, Associated Press
