Apple has a long history of upsetting regulators from different countries. Now, it seems the German antitrust regulator is unhappy with the company. Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has accused Apple of using its market power to give itself an unfair advantage through an iOS privacy feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT).
The antitrust agency of Germany accused Apple of unfairly using an iOS privacy feature
The German authority suspects that Apple is blocking competitors by restricting third-party app developers from tracking user data for advertising purposes. For the uninitiated, Apple launched ATT as a privacy-focused feature for iOS users back in 2021.
The company then said that this feature would allow users to opt out of being tracked across different apps. Although those concerned about their privacy lauded Apple for bringing that feature, many companies like Meta, which depend on ad tracking, criticized it.
Affected companies argued that while the tech giant made it hard for them to track user data, it has been actively collecting the same for its ads. The German antitrust regulator has seen it as “double standards,” eventually filing a case against Apple.
Let’s not forget that this isn’t the first instance of Apple being in the firing line of the German regulator. Germany’s Federal Cartel Office previously also investigated the company to find out more about the iOS privacy feature. They wanted to assess if it was a pro-privacy initiative or just a strategic move to block competition.
Failing to address concerns could result in daily fines
If Apple fails to address the concerns regarding the privacy-focused iOS feature, the German regulator could impose daily fines. It’s worth noting that there’s no information about the amount of a fine Apple may have to pay. However, this situation adds to the list of scrutiny Apple has been facing over the years in the European Union.
In the past, Apple stated that it set a high standard for user privacy compared to other developers. Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see if Apple manages this new problem internally or defends itself in court.