Italy Fines Apple Over €98 Million for 'Discriminatory' App Tracking Transparency Rules

The Italian Competition Authority has fined Apple over 98 million euros for abusing its dominant market position. The regulator ruled that the company's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policies stifle competition by forcing unfair obligations on third-party app developers.



The investigation centered on the privacy rules Apple rolled out for iOS in April 2021. While the ATT prompt asks users if they want to be tracked across other companies' apps and websites, the Authority determined that this prompt alone doesn't actually meet the legal requirements for consent under privacy laws. As a result, developers have to show their own consent prompt plus Apple's, creating a mandatory "double consent" loop for the exact same action.


Regulators found that this double hurdle is discriminatory and hits ad-reliant developers hard. The extra friction makes users much less likely to opt in, which cripples the data collection needed for personalized ads. The Authority noted that while smaller competitors and ad platforms suffer from these restrictions, Apple's own advertising division doesn't face the same rules, ultimately helping it secure more revenue and ad volume at the expense of others.

The Authority made it clear that it isn't challenging Apple's decision to protect user privacy, but rather the restrictive way it was implemented. It argued that Apple could have achieved the same level of protection without imposing a unilateral, burdensome double request on developers, suggesting a single-step consent process would have sufficed.

This decision piles onto the regulatory scrutiny Apple is facing across the region. The company recently lost a major antitrust lawsuit in the UK over its App Store fees and is still fighting over compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act.

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