Italy imposes USD115M fine on Apple for privacy policy violations
According to reports, the authority determined that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy restricted competition by imposing unfair conditions on third-party app developers. Introduced in 2021, the ATT framework requires developers to obtain explicit user consent for collecting and linking data for advertising purposes.
The investigation found that Apple’s implementation forced developers to request consent twice for the same purpose, a process deemed incompatible with privacy regulations. Officials said this “double consent” requirement negatively impacts developers, advertisers, and advertising platforms by limiting access to data necessary for personalized advertising.
“The terms of the ATT policy are imposed unilaterally and harm the interests of Apple’s commercial partners,” the authority stated. It added that the policy is “disproportionate” to Apple’s stated privacy goals and noted that the company could have achieved the same level of user protection with a single-step consent process.
The inquiry, conducted in collaboration with the European Commission, other national competition authorities, and the Italian Data Protection Authority, concluded that Apple holds a “super-dominant” position in the iOS app platform market. The regulator ruled that the company violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which prohibits the abuse of market dominance.
Apple, which distributes apps worldwide through its App Store, has previously defended ATT as a crucial measure for safeguarding user privacy.
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