Apple faces likely French antitrust fine over App Tracking Transparency user privacy tool

With App Tracking Transparency, apps are required to get a user’s permission to track or access their device’s advertising identifier.
Two individuals with direct knowledge of the situation have told Reuters that a regulatory body in France is set to decide next month on a potential antitrust penalty related to Apple’s privacy control feature. Known as App Tracking Transparency (ATT), this tool enables iPhone users to choose which applications can monitor their activity, aiding firms such as Meta Platforms, Facebook, and digital advertisers in customizing advertisements and evaluating their effectiveness.
Reuters:
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Digital advertising and mobile gaming companies including Facebook say it has made it more expensive and difficult for brands to advertise on Apple’s platforms.
The French regulator charged Apple in 2023, saying it was concerned that the company might “abuse its dominant position by implementing discriminatory, non-objective and non-transparent conditions for the use of user data for advertising purposes”.
It is expected to issue its decision next month ordering Apple to halt its anti-competitive practice and will likely impose a fine too, the people said, making it the first regulatory veto against the ATT.
French antitrust fines can be as much as 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.

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MacDailyNews Take: France wants to force Apple to destroy user privacy so advertisers can track them without their consent. Seems like a winning issue politically.

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