Apple faces £2 billion UK lawsuit over app tracking rules

A £2 billion collective action lawsuit has been filed against Apple at the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal, accusing the tech giant of abusing its market dominance through its App Tracking Transparency framework. The claim, filed on September 3, 2026, alleges that Apple imposed stricter privacy rules on third-party app developers than on its own services, giving its advertising business an unfair competitive advantage. The lawsuit is led by Ann Pope, a former senior director for antitrust at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. It is brought on behalf of thousands of UK-based app developers who rely on advertising revenue. The central allegation is that Apple's App Tracking Transparency policy, introduced in April 2021, created a "double standard." Third-party developers are required to obtain explicit user consent through a mandatory prompt before tracking activity across other apps and websites. The claimants argue that Apple's own advertising and data collection services were exempt from this same burdensome requirement, allowing Apple to gather comparable user data without facing the same friction.