Apple fined $116 million in Italy

The Italian competition authority, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, has fined Apple more than $116 million (€98.6 million) for abusing its dominant position in the market for app distribution to iOS users.

The authority considers that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, introduced in 2021, inhibits competition. The policy requires third-party developers to obtain double permission from users to collect and link data for advertising purposes, while Apple itself is not similarly affected.

The investigation, coordinated with the European Commission and other authorities, concluded that the rules are unilaterally imposed, disproportionate to Apple’s alleged privacy purpose, and harm app developers, advertisers and advertising networks by limiting their ability to use data for personalized advertising.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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