The French competition Watchdog has imposed a fine of Apple € 150 million (about $ 162 million) at the current exchange rates as it has been found that the company’s app tracking transparency (ATT) system allowed it to misuse its dominance in the mobile app market.
This initiative has been picked by Apple as a way to give users more control of their privacy, but the French authority states that it harasses small publishers and “with” APPLE “neither required nor proportional to” APPLE “to” protect its users’ personal data.
The app was launched back to Tracking Transparency 2021 and the app forces developers to show two pop-ups, seeking permission to track your data on other apps and websites. On the other hand, Apple’s own apps require only one tap to approve the location trekking, as exiting the location services on the third-party app.
The French Authority argues that this system uses the third-party application “highly complex” compared to its apps. In fact, many companies criticized the ATT, when it launched, saying that it would make users more difficult to track for targeted advertisements, one of the main methods in which apps earn money. As a result of Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter, advertising revenue can be collectively lost about $ 10 billion.
The French agency says that “although the introduction of ATT has affected all applications publishers, the framework has been particularly harmful for small publishers who do not enjoy alternative targeting possibilities in the absence of particularly adequate ownership data”.
Apple replied: “App Tracing Transparency users give more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand signal about one thing: Tracking. This signal is consistent for all developers including Apple, and we have received strong support from consumers, privacy advocates and data protection authorities around the world.”
Interestingly, the penalty does not come up with the need to change the attack in any way for Apple. However, Apple will have to show a summary of the agency’s decision on its website for seven days.
