German antitrust regulator Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has issued a "preliminary legal assessment" of its app tracking transparency framework (ATTF) to Apple. It alleges that the strict requirements put in place by the iPhone-maker only apply to third-party app providers and "not Apple itself."
App tracking transparency was introduced back in 2021, mandating apps to obtain specific consent from users before gaining access to their data for advertising. If a user doesn't want an app to track their activity, Apple won't give access to their system advertising identifier (IDFA) and requires the app to respect the user's choice moving forward. Any app found violating the rules may get removed from the App Store.
Meta was among the big players heavily affected by Apple's privacy feature. The social media giant heavily criticized Apple, stating that the move would hurt part of its business and the publishers' ability to grow through targeted advertising. However, the social media giant has since invested in AI-powered ad tools and tried to find alternative revenue streams by launching services like Meta Verified.
The regulator said in its preliminary review following a three-year investigation that Apple's alleged conduct breaks certain laws, and the company now has the chance to comment on the allegations.
The preliminary review highlights three competition concerns around ATTF, which it said may contribute to Apple favoring its own apps and "to impeding the relevant market participants."
It alleges that Apple defines "tracking" in a way that only "covers data processing for advertising purposes across companies." The strict ATTF rules don't account for Apple's own practice of combining user data across its services and using them for advertising purposes.
The allegations further include that consent messages are crafted in a way that "encourages users to allow Apple to process their data," while those designed for third-party apps "steer users towards refusing third-party data processing."
In a statement provided to TechCrunch, Apple said:
App Tracking Transparency gives users more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand prompt about one thing: tracking. That prompt is consistent for all developers, including Apple, and we have received strong support for this feature from consumers, privacy advocates, and data protection authorities around the world.
We firmly believe that users should control when their data is shared, and with whom, and will continue to constructively engage with the Federal Cartel Office to ensure users continue to have transparency and control over their data.
App publishers, content providers offering their own apps, and advertisers or technical service providers in the advertising industry are among the affected parties in this case, the regulator said.
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