Italy Fines Apple 98.6 Million Euros for ATT Policy Abuse

Italy's antitrust authority has fined Apple 98.6 million euros for abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market through its App Tracking Transparency policy, according to a statement from the regulator on Monday.

The Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, known as the AGCM, determined that the policy, introduced in April 2021 as part of an iOS update for iPhones and iPads, imposes unfair restrictions on third-party app developers. The feature requires apps to seek user permission before tracking activity for personalized advertising, aiming to enhance privacy. However, the authority found that Apple mandates a double consent process for these developers to comply with European privacy rules, which it described as disproportionate to the goal of data protection.

"The terms of the ATT policy are imposed unilaterally, they are detrimental to the interests of Apple's business partners, and are not proportionate to achieving the objective of privacy, as claimed by the company," the AGCM stated. This dual request burdens developers whose revenue depends on advertising, while Apple's own apps do not trigger the same prompt because they do not engage in cross-app...