The French competition authority (Autorité de la concurrence) sentenced Apple to a fine of 150 million euros on March 31, 2025. The reason was the abuse of a dominant market position in the distribution of mobile apps on iOS and iPadOS devices between April 2021 and July 2023. The details of the decision at a glance.
Apple introduces App Tracking Transparency (ATT)
In April 2021, Apple introduced a far-reaching innovation with version 14.5 of its mobile operating systems iOS and iPadOS: App Tracking Transparency (ATT). According to the company, the aim of this measure was to strengthen user privacy. ATT obliges all third-party apps to explicitly obtain the consent of the respective user before accessing the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). The IDFA enables cross-device tracking of user behavior and is a central component of targeted advertising strategies in the app ecosystem.
With the ATT, this access has been severely restricted, as users must now actively opt in to tracking (opt-in procedure). Apple argues that this contributes to more transparent and privacy-friendly mobile use. While at first glance this measure appears to be in line with the spirit of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - in particular the principles of transparency (Art. 5 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) and data minimization (Art. 5 para. 1 lit. c GDPR) - many market participants are confronted with a number of practical and legal problems.
In particular, Apple has been criticized for not subjecting its own services to the same restrictive requirements when implementing the ATT. While third-party providers are confronted with complex consent processes, Apple's own apps and advertising services such as "Apple Search Ads" continue to access aggregated user data - without obtaining comparable consent. This structural asymmetry has a significant impact on the market: third-party providers have to compete for the trust of users and often lose reach and revenue in the process. Apple, on the other hand, operates under the protection of its own system environment, which represents a potentially anti-competitive advantage.
Data protection as a pretext for competitive disadvantage?
The French competition authority Autorité de la concurrence came to the conclusion that the specific design of the ATT goes beyond what is necessary to effectively safeguard data protection rights. The aim of giving users more control over their personal data is legitimate in principle.
However, the mandatory consent requests to third-party providers on the one hand and Apple's simultaneous privileged access to its own user data on the other create a distorted competitive environment. In particular, the technical and design implementation - such as the design of the pop-ups or the hurdles to accessing the IDFA - leads to a systematic disadvantage for external developers. The user interface is not designed neutrally, but instead steers user behavior in favor of Apple's own services. As the dominant gatekeeper in the iOS ecosystem, Apple has a special responsibility here.
This asymmetry has a noticeable impact on the advertising market and jeopardizes the business models of third parties that rely on usage-based advertising.
Under data protection law, such a measure may therefore be covered by Art. 5 para. 1 lit. b and Art. 25 GDPR (data protection by design). Under competition law, however, a tension arises if the protection of privacy is used as a pretext to systematically disadvantage competing providers. Such a conflict of objectives requires a particularly careful examination of proportionality and equal treatment.
Smaller developers and advertising service providers systematically disadvantaged
According to the competition authorities, the distortions of competition for smaller developers and independent advertising service providers are particularly serious. These market participants are highly dependent on a functioning infrastructure for personalized advertising, as their business models are mostly based on user-based advertising revenue. For many of them, the ability to analyze user behavior across different apps and display targeted advertising is the economic basis. If access to corresponding tracking technologies such as IDFA is made more difficult for them due to additional hurdles or restrictions, this model will begin to falter.
At the same time, Apple itself reserves extensive access rights to user data, particularly for its own services such as Apple Search Ads. These services are deeply integrated into the operating system and are not subject to the same transparency and consent obligations as third-party providers. This creates an uneven playing field: while external providers are slowed down by the ATT, Apple can continue to operate undisturbed with its own services. This constellation not only gives the company an economic advantage, but also reduces diversity and innovation in the market for mobile applications and digital advertising, explains the Autorité de la concurrence.
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150 million euro fine: Apple's duty as gatekeeper
Due to the violations described and the systematic discrimination against competing market participants, the French competition authority imposed a severe fine of 150 million euros on Apple. This decision should not only be seen as a reaction to the specific behavior, but also as a landmark measure to enforce fair competition in the digital economy. The amount of the sanction signals that even internationally active technology companies with a dominant market position cannot operate outside of regulatory control.
The decision also has a far-reaching signal effect for other platform operators that hold a gatekeeper position within the meaning of the Digital Markets Act. It makes it clear that national competition authorities are prepared to take action against forms of self-preferential treatment, discriminatory interface policies or asymmetric data protection requirements.
Overall, the proceedings underline the growing relevance of competition law as a regulatory instrument for securing functioning digital markets. Particularly in light of the increasing concentration of market power in the tech sector, the decision represents an important step towards balancing out structural imbalances and protecting the innovative capacity of smaller market participants.
Source: Communication from the French competition authority Autorité de la concurrence
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