Italy’s antitrust regulator has fined Apple more than €98 million (about $116 million) for its strict privacy rules imposed on third-party apps. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) found Apple guilty of abusing its dominant position in the app store market by enforcing terms on data collection that exceed privacy law requirements for developers compared to native iOS apps.
The fine is a result of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, introduced in 2021, which mandates third-party developers to seek user consent twice to track data across apps and websites, while Apple’s own apps need only one tap for permission. AGCM noted that the dual consent process decreased user acceptance rates for personalized ads, impacting developers reliant on ad-generated revenue.
According to AGCM, the ATT policy’s unilateral imposition harms Apple’s commercial partners, as the double consent procedure is deemed disproportionate, failing to provide the same privacy level for users by not allowing developers to obtain profiling consent in a single step.
Apple, which faced a similar fine from France earlier this year over the ATT system, expressed strong disagreement with AGCM’s decision and plans to challenge it, reiterating its commitment to safeguarding user privacy.
Source: The Verge
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