French Regulator to Probe Apple's Upcoming Anti-Tracking Feature [Updated]

Apple will face a French antitrust probe into its upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature, following a complaint from advertisers in the country that the planned changes are anticompetitive.

app tracking pop up ios 14
Starting in iOS 14.5, Apple will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads and track how effective their campaigns were.

In light of the planned changes, a group of advertising companies and publishers filed a complaint in France last year alleging that the wording of Apple's permission prompt will lead most users to decline tracking of their device's advertising identifier, which could result in lost revenue.

On Wednesday, France's competition regulator rejected a plea from the group to block Apple's plan to restrict tracking of users' app usage, on the grounds that obtaining consent "doesn't appear to be abusive." Instead, the probe will scrutinize whether Apple is being consistent in applying the same rules to itself.

Via Bloomberg:

The investigation will "look closely" at whether Apple applied less stringent rules to itself than to other services as it makes privacy changes to curb online tracking in its forthcoming iOS 14 software update, the authority's chief, Isabelle de Silva told reporters at a Paris press conference on Wednesday. The case shows the need for fast antitrust action into technical issues, she said, promising a final ruling by early 2022 at the latest.

Apple's planned rollout of its new App Tracking Transparency feature has been controversial among advertisers from the off, with the upcoming feature drawing criticism from the likes of Facebook, which is concerned that many users will not consent to being tracked across apps for ad personalization purposes.

App Tracking Transparency is different from Apple's own personalized advertising system, which the regulator is likely to scrutinize as part of its probe. Apple's ads system doesn't track users across apps and doesn't identify users to target its ads. Instead, it relies on the anonymous grouping of users' shared characteristics such as apps downloaded, age, country or city of residence, and gender.

In a statement given to Bloomberg, Apple said it was "grateful" to the authority for "recognizing that app tracking transparency in iOS 14 is in the best interest of French iOS users," and said it looked forward to working with regulators on user privacy and competition.

Update: Apple issued the following statement to MacRumors in response to the French Competition Authority:

We're grateful to the French Competition Authority for recognizing that App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 is in the best interest of French iOS users. ATT will provide a powerful user privacy benefit by requiring developers to ask users' permission before sharing their data with other companies for the purposes of advertising, or with data brokers. We firmly believe that users' data belongs to them, and that they should control when that data is shared, and with whom. We look forward to further engagement with the FCA on this critical matter of user privacy and competition.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Janschi Avatar
40 months ago
As a German I must say, that France is like that wife that you can't please. No matter what you do.
Of course France probes every single fart a foreign company does. Then the French wonder why nobody likes them.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WilburMercer Avatar
40 months ago
What sort of world are we living in where it's "anti-competitive" to ask companies to stop spying on your internet usage?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Konigi Avatar
40 months ago
Oh come on! They were supposed to be pro-users, pro-consumers. Now they are simply contrarians?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Captain Trips Avatar
40 months ago

You have to wonder what sort of wording the advertisers think would be more appropriate.

"This app would like to supply you with unicorns and rainbows, do you accept?"
I think "truffles and Bordeaux wine" might get greater acceptance in France... :D?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericwn Avatar
40 months ago
Looking forward to the findings. Apple likely has applied greater care in the privacy part of its business so I don’t necessarily expect any great revelations here.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Janschi Avatar
40 months ago

The fact that the rest don’t like France is covered in the famous Trillion Dollar episode of the Simpsons. [emoji3577]
I haven't watched that episode. I'll do it now.

Germany isn't great either, but I think the Anti-Tracking Feature really much is in favor of the GDPR the EU imposed a couple of years back.

In my opinion France only probes this, because Apple is a foreign company.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
iphone 16 dummies

iPhone 16 Dummy Models Showcase Design Changes, New Buttons

Tuesday March 26, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Images comparing purportedly accurate dummy models of the iPhone 16 series have been shared online, providing a closer look at the rumored design of the upcoming devices. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to get larger display sizes this year, according to multiple sources, while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be the same size as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. ...