Apple Hit with $162 Million Fine by France’s Antitrust Watchdog

March 31, 2025 TruthUSA

The French Competition Authority determined that a privacy feature released by Apple in 2021 was in violation of competition law.

France’s antitrust watchdog declared on Monday that Apple would be fined 150 million euros ($162 million) for introducing a privacy feature that shielded users from apps attempting to spy on them, as the enforcement of the feature led to violations of competition regulations.

The French Competition Authority (FCA) explained that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), which required iPhone and iPad apps to obtain user permission before tracking them, was not the issue itself.

However, the FCA found fault with the implementation of the feature, stating that it was not necessary or proportionate to Apple’s intention of safeguarding personal data.

Apple initiated the rollout of ATT in April 2021 as part of an update to the operating system of iPhones and iPads. The feature mandated apps to seek approval before gathering data for targeted advertising purposes.

Despite the emphasis on privacy, critics from the tech industry challenged the feature, arguing that it could hinder the survival of smaller apps that rely on personalized data without charging users.

The fine was imposed on the tech giant in Cupertino for exploiting its dominant position in mobile app distribution from April 2021 to July 2023.

The regulator in France claimed that the introduction of the feature resulted in users being overwhelmed with pop-ups from third-party apps seeking consent, making it overly complex for users to navigate Apple’s iOS operating system.

In its official statement, the FCA highlighted that the interaction rules among the displayed windows compromised the device’s neutrality, causing clear economic harm to app publishers and advertising service providers.

“The ATT, as implemented by Apple, unfairly disadvantaged smaller publishers since these entities heavily rely on third-party data for financial support, unlike major integrated platforms,” the FCA stated.

Apple defended ATT by stating that it provides users with more privacy control through a prompt that is clear, required, and easy to understand regarding tracking.

“This prompt is consistent across all developers, including Apple, and we have garnered strong support from consumers, privacy advocates, and data protection authorities worldwide for this feature,” Apple added.

“Although we are displeased with the ruling today, the French Competition Authority (FCA) did not mandate specific changes to ATT.”

The fine comes shortly after Apple halted the provision of top-tier data security protections to new users in the UK following a reported request from the British government for backdoor access to user data.

The Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud storage, preventing unauthorized access to data such as photos, documents, and notes.

Without ADP, specific types of iCloud data may no longer be fully encrypted, potentially allowing access to third parties with appropriate legal authorization.

Apple’s decision was prompted by reports, including from The Washington Post and the BBC, suggesting that the UK Home Office issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple.

This legally binding directive purportedly compels Apple to grant access to encrypted user data under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, also known as the “snoopers’ charter.”

The UK Home Office neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the notice, citing that they do not comment on operational matters, including the acknowledgment or denial of such notices.

Apple also refrained from acknowledging the notice’s existence.

In recent years, European authorities have frequently penalized Silicon Valley giants, with Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Google all receiving fines from the European Union or individual countries.

The Associated Press and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.

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