Italy’s competition authority has imposed a fine of €98.6 million (around $115 million) on Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing an alleged abuse of dominance in the mobile application market.
According to the regulator, Apple holds an overwhelmingly dominant position through its App Store when dealing with third-party developers. The authority claims the company breached European competition rules by enforcing restrictive privacy policies that disadvantaged app developers not owned by Apple.
The investigation, which began in May 2023, focused on changes introduced in April 2021. Regulators allege that Apple required third-party developers to follow stricter data-collection rules under its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, while Apple’s own apps were not subject to the same practical limitations.
Under ATT, developers must request explicit user consent to collect and link data for advertising purposes. The watchdog stated that these requirements were imposed unilaterally and forced developers to make duplicate consent requests for the same data usage, creating unnecessary burdens.
Italy’s competition authority argued that the ATT policy was not proportionate to Apple’s stated goal of protecting user privacy and did not fully comply with European privacy regulations. It added that the rules harmed the commercial interests of Apple’s business partners.
Apple rejected the ruling, saying it strongly disagrees with the decision and believes it overlooks the importance of the privacy safeguards offered by ATT. The company stated that the framework was designed to give users clear control over how their data is tracked across apps and websites, and that the rules apply equally to all developers, including Apple itself.
Apple confirmed it will appeal the fine and reiterated its commitment to defending strong privacy protections for users.
The regulator noted that the investigation was complex and conducted in close cooperation with the European Commission and international antitrust authorities
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