France Fines Apple $162M Over iOS Data Tracking Consent

France’s antitrust regulator fined Apple Inc. €150 million ($162 million) after a lengthy probe into how the technology company asks to collect iOS users’ data and the impact on advertisers.

Apple’s ATT system is not allowing app publishers to comply with Europe’s GDPR privacy rules, the authority said, forcing these apps to display multiple pop-ups and making their use excessively complex.

The regulator, the Autorité de la Concurrence, said that Apple’s app tracking transparency framework was “neither necessary nor proportionate” in a text of its decision, published on Monday.

It said the framework in itself was not “problematic.” However, the way it was implemented is “abusive within the meaning of competition law.”

The outcome could attract the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has warned he’d strike back with heavy tariffs following any “disproportionate” penalties against American tech firms.

French competition officials investigating the case examined whether Apple applied less stringent rules to itself than to other services. The case was opened after a group of advertisers brought a complaint to the regulator, claiming the changes, which came into effect in 2021, would harm their revenues.

Apple has previously stated that the rules give users “more control by requiring all apps to ask permission before tracking them.” The Cupertino, California-based company said it also complies with EU rules.

Top photo: An Apple Inc. store in Paris.