Apple fined $158 million by Italian authority over app privacy prompts

Italy's antitrust regulator has fined Apple more than €98 million (about C$158 million) for the “overly onerous” privacy rules it imposed on third-party apps.

According to Edge, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) speaks that Apple abused its dominant position in the app store by imposing “disproportionate” data collection terms on developers that exceed privacy law requirements compared to those for native iOS apps.

The fine targets the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy launched in 2021. This requires third-party developers to ask users twice for consent to track data across other apps and websites. Apple's third-party apps can reportedly obtain this permission with just one tap. AGCM adds that the double consent burden has led to lower levels of user consent to ad profiling, hurting developers who depend on revenue from personalized advertising.

This decision follows Apple fined 150 million euros by the French competition watchdog back in March over similar concerns about Apple's ATT system.

Interestingly, this is not the first time the Californian tech giant has been fined in Europe for violating antitrust laws. In 2024 The European Union ordered Apple to pay 1.8 billion euros (or about C$2.6 billion) after an investigation found the company engaged in anti-regulatory practices (including preventing the tech giant's developers from informing users about cheaper music streaming alternatives).

No wonder, Spotify praises EU for decisionwriting in a blog post: “By demanding Apple stop its illegal behavior in the EU, the (European Commission) is putting consumers first.”

This is stated in a statement from Apple to Reuters that he “strongly disagrees” with the AGM (shocker) and will appeal the decision. Apple also reaffirmed its commitment to “defend strong privacy protections.”

Source: Edge

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