Apple has been fined €150 million (approximately $162 million) by France’s competition authority for its handling of the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy framework. The Autorité de la concurrence penalized Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant market position between April 26, 2021, and July 25, 2023.

Launched with iOS 14.5, the ATT framework mandates that mobile applications must obtain explicit user consent to access a device’s unique advertising identifier (IDFA) for tracking purposes across various apps and websites for targeted advertising.

Apple’s policy indicates that without user permission, the advertising identifier will not be functional, which effectively hampers tracking efforts. App developers are tasked not only with asking for tracking permission but also with clarifying the rationale behind the request for tracking.

The regulatory authority criticized the complexity of the ATT framework, claiming it does not align with Apple’s professed intent of protecting personal data. The framework was characterized as "artificially complex," leading to legal compliance issues under the French Data Protection Act, as it necessitated multiple consent requests from users.

Two key unequal aspects were highlighted: while users must confirm their consent twice for tracking on third-party apps and sites, Apple’s applications did not require such verification until iOS 15 was implemented. This created a disparity in the consent process, suggesting a bias in how Apple’s framework is applied. Consequently, this led to the fine for violating Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act.

Currently, there are no mandated changes imposed on Apple; compliance with the ruling remains the company’s responsibility. Notably, the financial penalty represents a minor hit to Apple’s finances, which reported a net income of $36.3 billion for the quarter ending December 28, 2024.

In response to the ruling, Apple stated that the ATT prompt is uniformly applied to all developers, including itself, and stressed that they have garnered significant support for this feature from various stakeholders globally.

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