Apple Fined $115 Million Over Alleged App Store Privacy Abuses, Vows to Appeal

Italy's competition authority has slapped Apple with a $115 million fine, claiming the tech giant abused its dominant position in the mobile app market by imposing restrictive privacy policies on third-party developers. The App Store, which Apple controls, allegedly forced developers to obtain specific consent for data collection and linking data for advertising purposes. The regulator, AGCM, launched an investigation in May 2023, citing Apple's penalties on developers for enforcing a more restrictive privacy policy from April 2021. Apple argues that its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt provides essential privacy protections, but AGCM contends that the terms are imposed unilaterally and disproportionately favor Apple's interests. The watchdog also claims that developers were forced to make duplicate consent requests for the same purpose, violating privacy regulations. Apple has vowed to appeal the decision, reiterating its commitment to strong privacy protections. The investigation was carried out in coordination with the European Commission and other international antitrust regulators.