Apple is in trouble in Germany over iOS privacy feature

Mere hours ago, it became known that Apple has finally chosen a partner to charge the iPhone with AI in China; in Europe, though, things are going south for the Cupertino giant.

Apple is once again in the crosshairs of German regulators – the US giant is facing accusations of using its market dominance to give itself an unfair advantage through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature.

The German antitrust authority (the Federal Cartel Office – kind of cool name, when I think of it), has charged the tech giant with restricting competition by making it harder for third-party app developers to track users for advertising purposes while allegedly giving its own services a competitive edge.

If Apple fails to address these concerns, it could face daily fines, adding another chapter to the ongoing scrutiny of its business practices in Europe. I mean, Europe is handing out sanctions fiercely – while it seems that the US and China are having all the high-tech fun, coming up with innovations and different stuff. But that's another story.

As we've reported earlier, the ATT feature, introduced in 2021 with iOS 14.5, was marketed as a privacy-focused tool, allowing users to opt out of being tracked across different applications.

While this was welcomed by privacy advocates, it immediately drew backlash from companies that rely on ad tracking, most notably Meta, whose business model depends on targeted advertising. Critics argued that while Apple enforced strict tracking restrictions on third-party apps, it continued collecting valuable user data for its own advertising efforts, effectively tilting the playing field in its favor.

This could be seen as "double standards" and the Federal Cartel Office did see it that way, bringing up a case against Apple, with regulators suggesting that the company may have created artificial barriers.

German regulators signaled concerns about whether the feature was being applied in a way that unfairly benefited Apple while restricting competitors. Years ago, the Federal Cartel Office launched an investigation into whether ATT was truly a pro-privacy initiative or a strategic move to solidify Apple's control over its ecosystem.

Now, after a three-year probe, authorities have formally charged Apple, escalating the pressure on the company to change its approach.

Apple has defended its position, stating that it holds itself to a higher privacy standard than other developers and remains committed to giving users more control over their data.