Apple can't force app makers to get consent twice to track user data, Italian regulator says.

Apple was hit with a $115 million fine Monday after Italy’s competition authority alleged the tech giant was abusing its dominant position to harm third-party developers in its App Store.

In a press release, the Italian Competition Authority said that an “App Tracking Transparency” (ATT) privacy policy that Apple introduced in 2021 forced third-party developers to seek consent twice for the same data collection.

Requiring such “double consent” was “extremely burdensome” and “harmful” to some developers—especially the smallest developers, the regulator said. Many developers struggled to earn ad revenue after the policy was introduced, as users increasingly declined to opt into personalized ads.

      • TheAsianDonKnots@lemmy.zipEnglish
        181·
        2 months ago

        I found that if I opted out of personalized ads they started showing dick pill ads with half naked women asking my kids if they wanted to get rock hard. Turned personalized ads back on and it’s divorce lawyer ads from my divorce two years ago. Lose/lose.

      • imecth@fedia.io
        56·
        2 months ago

        Part of the problem here is that those extra permissions weren’t required if you used Apple’s ad service. They stifled competition in their own favor.

    • Tony Bark@pawb.socialOPEnglish
      43·
      2 months ago

      Its insane how much billions they’re allowed to make while we get none of it.