Home / Technology / Italy Slams Apple With $116M Fine
Italy Slams Apple With $116M Fine
22 Dec
Summary
- Apple fined 98.6 million euros for abusing dominant position.
- Privacy feature allegedly restricted App Store competition.
- Double consent requirement deemed disproportionate by authority.
Italy's antitrust authority has levied a significant fine of 98.6 million euros ($116 million) against Apple. The penalty stems from the authority's determination that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy improperly restricted competition within the App Store, abusing the company's dominant market position.
The core of the complaint lies in Apple's requirement for app developers to obtain user consent twice to comply with privacy regulations. While ATT was introduced to enhance user privacy starting in April 2021, the Italian authority argued that this dual consent mechanism is disproportionate and harms developers and advertisers whose business models depend on targeted ads.
This decision echoes a similar finding by French regulators, who previously fined Apple 150 million euros ($162 million) over the same privacy feature. Apple has defended its framework in the past and previously engaged with Italian authorities to address concerns.
