Apple Warns It May Disable Privacy Feature in Europe Amid Regulatory Pressure
CUPERTINO, CA – Apple is threatening to withdraw its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in Europe, citing intense lobbying efforts and regulatory challenges that it claims will harm European consumers’ privacy. The company argues that authorities in Germany, Italy, and across the continent are possibly forcing its hand, jeopardizing a key privacy tool for users.
introduced in 2021, ATT requires app developers to obtain explicit user permission before tracking their data across other companies’ apps and websites. While lauded by privacy advocates,ATT has drawn criticism from advertisers and tech companies who claim it negatively impacts their ability to target ads and measure campaign effectiveness. apple maintains that ATT empowers users to control their data and privacy.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office issued a preliminary assessment earlier this year concluding that ATT may be anticompetitive, alleging Apple doesn’t apply the same privacy standards to its own apps.Apple was also recently fined €162 million in France over ATT after advertisers complained.
Apple refutes these allegations, stating, “Apple (…) holds itself to a higher standard than it requires of any third-party developer by providing users with an affirmative choice as to whether they would like personalized ads at all.And Apple has designed services and features such as Siri, Maps, FaceTime, and iMessage such that the company cannot link data across those services even if it wished to do so.”
Despite this defense, Apple believes regulators are being swayed by lobbying efforts aimed at protecting ad-supported businesses, rather than prioritizing consumer privacy. The company stated it will “continue to urge the relevant authorities…to allow Apple to continue providing this significant privacy tool to our users.”
