Italy's competition authority has fined Apple over €98.6 million for abusing its dominant market position through privacy rules that allegedly disadvantage third-party developers and restrict competition in the iOS app ecosystem.
The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) announced earlier today that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, introduced in April 2021 as part of iOS, violates Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits abuse of dominant market positions. The decision follows a lengthy investigation conducted in coordination with the European Commission, national competition authorities, and Italy's privacy regulator.
At the center of the case is Apple's ATT framework, which requires app developers to obtain explicit user consent before tracking activity across apps and websites for advertising purposes. This consent is requested through a standardized prompt designed and controlled by Apple. However, the AGCM found that this implementation imposes disproportionate burdens on third-party developers, effectively forcing them to duplicate consent requests to comply with data protection laws. According to the authority, this duplication creates unnecessary friction, undermines the user experience, and reduces the effectiveness of ad personalization for developers and advertisers alike.
Apple's dominant position in the mobile app distribution market for iOS, where the App Store is the sole channel for app installation, played a central role in the decision. The AGCM concluded that Apple's unilateral enforcement of ATT rules harmed its commercial partners by limiting their ability to monetize through advertising. Apple's own advertising operations, which are exempt from the same consent burden, were not similarly impacted, raising concerns about self-preferencing and discriminatory treatment.
Apple Inc. is one of the world's largest technology firms, with a global footprint spanning hardware, software, and digital services. Its App Store has become the exclusive gateway for distributing apps on iOS devices, handling billions of downloads annually. ATT was rolled out as part of Apple's broader push toward user privacy, but critics argue it simultaneously reinforced Apple's control over ad tracking and data flows within its ecosystem.
The AGCM emphasized that while protecting user privacy is a legitimate goal, the ATT rules go beyond what is necessary to achieve it. The regulator argued that Apple could have allowed developers to request consent through a single, unified prompt while still preserving privacy protections. By failing to offer this option, Apple allegedly distorted competition and harmed businesses reliant on targeted advertising, including app developers, advertisers, and ad tech platforms.
In a statement to the media, Apple strongly rejected the AGCM's findings and said it would file a formal appeal.
“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we created App Tracking Transparency to give users a simple way to control whether companies can track their activity across other apps and websites. These rules apply equally to all developers, including Apple, and have been embraced by our customers and praised by privacy advocates and data protection authorities around the world, including the Garante. We strongly disagree with the ICA's decision, which disregards the important privacy protections ATT provides in favor of ad tech companies and data brokers who want unfettered access to users' personal data. We will continue to defend strong privacy protections for our users as we appeal.” – Apple
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