Apple is feeling the heat in France after antitrust regulators confronted the tech giant with a hefty €150 million ($162.42 million) fine for abusing its power in mobile app advertising between 2021 and 2023.
According to regulators, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature has unfairly squeezed out competitors in the digital ad space.
Despite the fine, Apple dodged a bigger blow; the French watchdog did not order any changes to the ATT system, a small victory for the iPhone maker.
This marks the first time any antitrust authority has penalized Apple over ATT, a tool designed to give iPhone and iPad users control over which apps can track their activity. While Apple champions ATT as a win for user privacy, critics, including advertisers, publishers, and digital networks, argue it unfairly benefits Apple while hammering smaller businesses.
The French competition authority agreed, stating that Apple’s system was “neither necessary nor proportionate” to its stated goal of protecting user data.
Regulators noted that smaller publishers, who rely on third-party data for revenue, were hit hardest by the change. In addition to the fine, Apple must display the decision on its website for seven days.
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Though significant, the penalty pales in comparison to the €1.8 billion fine the European Commission dropped on Apple last year for stifling music streaming rivals on its App Store, a case motivated by complaints from Spotify. Apple responded to Monday’s decision with disappointment but pointed out that it is not required to make any immediate adjustments to its privacy tool.
- This is not the end of Apple’s regulatory troubles in Europe. Germany’s antitrust watchdog is also scrutinizing ATT, accusing Apple of giving itself preferential treatment. In February, German regulators formally charged the company, adding to Apple’s growing list of legal battles across the continent.
- The fallout from Apple’s ATT changes has been felt far beyond Europe. When the system rolled out in 2021, it sent shockwaves through the online advertising world. Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, reported a staggering $10 billion hit to its revenue before adapting with new methods to target users.
- The EU executive is due to announce the results of three year-long investigations into breaches of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, two into Apple and one into Meta. Both companies are expected to receive fines, the first issued under the DMA, with announcements that could come as late as the end of the week.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump declared in a memo that the DMA, which lays out rules for how tech companies should operate on the European market, would face scrutiny and could lead to reciprocal tariffs.
