France Fines Apple for Antitrust Violations

France's antitrust regulator has fined Apple 150 million euros for abusing its position in the distribution of mobile apps. The regulator highlighted issues with Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework, which requires user consent for data collection by third-party apps, as neither necessary nor proportionate.

The French Competition Authority has slammed a substantial fine of 150 million euros on tech giant Apple for abusing its dominant position in the distribution of mobile applications across iOS and iPad platforms, covering the period from April 2021 to July 2023.

While the Authority acknowledged that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework aims to protect user data by requiring consent for third-party data collection, it criticized the implementation as disproportionate. According to the regulator, the method employed by Apple failed to align with its declared goals adequately.

This measure requires Apple device users to approve data collection by third-party applications, standardizing the approach in a minimally adjustable format purportedly to safeguard privacy, raising concerns about its necessity and proportionality.

(With inputs from agencies.)