Poland 's competition regulator is investigating whether Apple is restricting competition in the mobile advertising market through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework (according to a Reuters report).
ATT, which was introduced in April 2021 with the release of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, requires all apps on iPhone and iPad to ask for a user’s consent before tracking their activity in other apps. Apps that want to track a user based on their device’s unique advertising identifier can only do so if the user gives permission when prompted.
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Apple said the feature was designed to protect users , not to give the company an advantage. However, it's no surprise that the feature is not popular with advertisers and data brokers.
Poland's antitrust office, UOKiK, suspects that App Tracking Transparency framework may favor its own advertising service by limiting the ability of third-party apps to collect user data for personalized ads.
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“We suspect that the ATT policy may have misled users about the level of privacy protection, while at the same time increasing competitive advantage Apple’s,” said UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny. “Such practices may constitute an abuse of a dominant position.”
If the regulator finds its suspicions to be well-founded, Apple could face a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover in Poland.
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Apple said: “It’s no surprise that the data tracking industry continues to oppose our efforts to give users data their. Now, intense pressure may force us to withdraw this feature, which would harm European consumers.”
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“We will work with the Polish competition authority to ensure that Apple can continue to offer users this valuable privacy“.
Other countries have also targeted App Tracking Transparency
Regulators in Germany, Italy , and Romania have opened similar investigations to examine whether the privacy violates competition rules by blocking access to key data for advertising (while strengthening Apple's position in the digital advertising market).
In March, Apple was fined €150 million ($162 million) by France for implementing the framework.
