Apple Fined $162 Million for App Privacy System That Harms Developers

France's competition authority has fined Apple 150 million euros ($162 million) for abusing its market dominance through its App Tracking Transparency system, ruling the privacy initiative unfairly disadvantages app developers. The watchdog determined that requiring third-party developers to use two pop-ups for tracking permissions while Apple's own apps need just one tap creates an 'excessively complex' process that particularly harms smaller publishers lacking sufficient proprietary data for alternative targeting.

The authority acknowledged the system's privacy benefits, but concluded the framework is 'neither necessary nor proportionate' with data protection goals. The regulator is not requiring Apple to modify the system, only imposing the fine for past practices. Apple must display a summary of the decision on its website for seven days.

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