France Fines Apple €8 Million for Targeted App Store Ads
French regulators today fined Apple €8 million for breaching France's data protection rules with targeted App Store ads. France's National Commission for Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) says that Apple did not get the consent of French iPhone users before using identifiers to present targeted ads in the iOS 14.6 update.

Apple was collecting information and using that data for ads by default, and CNIL says that users had to undertake a "large number of actions" to turn advertising off in the Privacy section of the Settings app. As a result, CNIL ruled that Apple breached Article 82 of the Data Protection Act, leading to a sanction of 8 million euros.
The CNIL services have found that under the old version 14.6 of the iPhone operating system, when a user went to the App Store, identifiers for several purposes, including purposes of customizing advertising ads displayed on the App Store, were by default automatically read on the terminal without collecting consent.
In a statement to Fortune's Patrick McGee, Apple said that it is "disappointed" with the decision and plans to appeal, noting that it only uses its own data for personalized ads.
We are disappointed with this decision given the CNIL has previously recognized that how we serve search ads in the App Store prioritizes user privacy, and we will appeal.
Apple Search Ads goes further than any other digital advertising platform we are aware of by providing users with a clear choice as to whether or not they would like personalized ads. Additionally, Apple Search Ads never tracks users across 3rd party apps and websites, and only uses first-party data to personalize ads. We believe privacy is a fundamental human right and a user should always get to decide whether to share their data and with whom.
Today's fine dates back to a 2021 investigation that CNIL launched after a complaint from the France Digitale association. France Digitale, a lobbying group that represents startups and venture capital firms, said that the iOS 14 update did not comply with European protections for personal data. Apple has since changed how targeted advertising works, and the opt-in and opt-out procedures.
Popular Stories
Multiple rumors have suggested that the next-generation iPhone 15 models will adopt the Wi-Fi 6E standard that Apple has already introduced in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, and now a leaked document appears to confirm Apple's plans.
Sourced from researcher and Apple leaker Unknownz21 (@URedditor), the document features diagrams of the iPhone 15's antenna architecture. D8x refers to the...
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected to be announced in September as usual. Already, rumors suggest the devices will have at least eight exclusive features not available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
An overview of the eight features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17...
Following last week's hardware announcements, this week saw the actual release of several of the new products as well as operating system updates bringing new features and bug fixes across Apple's platforms.
This week also saw some fresh rumors about the iPhone 15 lineup and Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset, while we shared some tips to help you get the most of your macOS experience, so read...
In June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more.
Apple says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in late 2023, with committed automakers including Acura, Audi,...
New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips are available in Apple retail stores and are already in the hands of customers, and we picked up one of the new M2 Max machines to answer all of the questions MacRumors readers considering a purchase might have.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Yesterday, we asked MacRumors fans on...
The upcoming iPhone 15 models that are set to be introduced later in 2023 will adopt the Wi-Fi 6E standard, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a note about Apple's work on a Wi-Fi chip, Kuo said that the company will upgrade the iPhone 15 to Wi-Fi 6E.
Apple is already using Wi-Fi 6E for the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models introduced last year, along with the new Mac mini and...
The iPhone 15 will support Wi-Fi 6E, according to a research note shared this week by Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley. The analysts did not specify whether the feature will be available on all models or limited to the Pro models.
Apple has added Wi-Fi 6E support to a handful of devices so far, including the latest 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook...
Top Rated Comments
Then they went and abused it for themselves in the App Store.
https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/327602-dominant-force-threatens-current-and-future-innovation/
https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/10/6/21505027/congress-big-tech-antitrust-report-facebook-google-amazon-apple-mark-zuckerberg-jeff-bezos-tim-cook
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/04/republicans-and-democrats-increasingly-agree-big-tech-is-too-powerful/