Apple has been hit with a €98 million ($116 million) antitrust fine in Italy after regulators concluded that its app privacy framework unfairly disadvantages third-party developers operating on the App Store. The decision marks another escalation in Europe’s scrutiny of how Big Tech platforms balance user privacy with competition.
Italy’s Competition Authority ruled that Apple abused its dominant position by imposing what it called “excessively burdensome” data-consent requirements on external developers, while applying more lenient standards to its own apps. The ruling centers on Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy, introduced in 2021, which reshaped digital advertising across the mobile ecosystem.
Why regulators took action
Under the App Tracking Transparency framework, third-party apps must prompt users twice for permission to track their activity across apps and websites. Apple’s own iOS apps, however, can obtain similar consent with a single tap. According to Italian regulators, this asymmetry goes beyond what is required under European privacy law.
The authority argued that the additional friction significantly reduced user consent rates for third-party apps, particularly those reliant on advertising-based business models. Lower opt-in rates translated into weaker ad targeting, reduced revenues, and a competitive disadvantage for developers that depend on personalized advertising.
Regulators said the issue was not the existence of stricter privacy protections, but the unequal application of those protections. By exempting its own services from the same standards imposed on rivals, Apple was found to have distorted competition within its ecosystem.
Market and industry implications
The ruling adds pressure on Apple as European authorities increasingly challenge platform practices that blend privacy, competition, and self-preferencing. Similar concerns have been raised under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the power of so-called gatekeeper companies.
For app developers, the decision could strengthen arguments that privacy rules must be applied consistently across platforms. Advertising-dependent businesses, particularly smaller developers, have long argued that Apple’s policies reshaped the mobile ad market in ways that disproportionately benefit Apple’s own services.
For Apple, the fine is modest relative to its financial scale, but the precedent is more significant. Regulators have ordered the company to outline how it will bring its practices into compliance or risk additional penalties. The case underscores a broader shift in Europe toward tighter enforcement of competition rules against large technology firms, even when policies are framed around user protection.
As previously covered, similar regulatory actions across the EU suggest that scrutiny of app stores and digital advertising models is likely to intensify in the years ahead.
