Apple fined $158 million by Italian authority over app privacy prompts

Apple has been fined more than €98 million (approx. C$158 million) by Italy’s antitrust regulator for “excessively burdensome” privacy rules it imposed on third-party apps.

According to The Verge, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) says that Apple abused its dominant app store position by imposing “disproportionate” data-collection terms on developers that exceed privacy law requirements compared to those for native iOS apps.

The fine targets the company’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, launched in 2021. This requires third-party developers to ask users for consent twice to track data across other apps and websites. Apple’s first-party apps can reportedly obtain this permission in a single tap. The AGCM adds that the burden of obtaining consent twice led to a reduction in user consent rates for advertising profiling, harming developers who depend on revenue from personalized ads.

This ruling follows Apple being fined €150 million by France’s competition watchdog back in March over similar concerns around Apple’s ATT system.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the California-based tech giant has been fined in Europe for antitrust violations. In 2024, the European Union ordered Apple to pay €1.8 billion (or about C$2.6 billion)  following an investigation revealing that the company engaged in anti-steering practices (including the tech giant banning developers from informing users about cheaper music streaming alternatives).

Unsurprisingly, Spotify praised the EU for its decision, writing in a blog post that “By requiring Apple to stop its illegal conduct in the EU, the (European Commission) is putting consumers first.”

Apple said in a statement to Reuters that it “strongly disagrees” with the AGCM (shocker) and will appeal the decision. Apple also reiterated its commitment “to defend strong privacy protections.”

Source: The Verge

Image credit: Shutterstock