Italy fines Apple €98.6M for unfair anti-tracking feature

The Italian market supervisor, AGCM, has imposed a fine of €98.6 million on Apple for abusing its dominant position in the smartphone market through its anti-tracking policy in the App Store.

In coordination with the European Commission, the Italian data protection authority (DPA), and other national competition authorities, the AGCM launched an investigation into Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in May 2023.

ATT is Apple’s user privacy policy, introduced in April 2021, and has been part of iOS and iPadOS since version 14.5.

Before third-party developers can show personalized ads, they must get consent from users. By displaying a pop-up prompt as soon as users open the app for the first time, they try to get permission for a more personalized experience.

However, Apple’s ATT policy doesn't meet privacy legislation requirements.

According to the Italian competition authority, the terms of Apple’s ATT policy are “imposed unilaterally” and harm the interests of Apple’s business partners. The AGCM also found that the terms were disproportionate to achieve the company’s data protection objectives.

The market regulator also states that Apple’s ATT policy doesn’t comply with European privacy regulations. In practice, this means that developers must also request tracking permission in their app, in addition to Apple’s notification. This “double consent” is detrimental to developers, as they rely on advertising revenue.

“Since user data is a key input for personalized online advertising, the double consent request that inevitably arises from the ATT policy, as implemented, restricts the collection, linking, and use of such data. As a result, such a double consent requirement is harmful to developers, whose business model relies on the sale of advertising space, as well as to advertisers and advertising intermediation platforms,” the AGCM says in a press release.

The competition regulator requires Apple to ensure the same level of privacy protection for users by allowing developers to obtain consent for profiling in a single step.

In November, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKIK) accused Apple of having an unfair advantage over third-party developers. To see whether Apple’s tracking and advertising policies are fair, the Polish competition authority launched an investigation into the matter.

Unlock more exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.