French antitrust watchdog fines Apple €150 million over data collection tool
ADVERTISEMENT
France's national competition regulator imposed a €150 million fine on Apple on Monday, citing the company's abuse of its dominant position in the distribution of mobile applications on iOS and iPadOS.
At the core of the French competition authority's decision is Apple's data collection system, which regulators say goes beyond what is necessary. The
Autorité de la concurrence
condemned the company's approach as 'neither necessary for nor proportionate with Apple's stated objective of protecting personal data.'
In 2021, Apple introduced
App Tracking Transparency
(ATT), a tool designed to give users more control over their personal data. The feature prompts users to consent to data collection on third-party applications within the iOS and iPadOS ecosystem, limiting targeted advertising unless explicitly allowed.
While Apple has promoted ATT as a major step toward protecting user privacy, regulators in France argue that the system may also serve to reinforce the company's dominance by restricting competitors' access to valuable data.
In Monday's decision, the French watchdog did not question the ATT itself but found its implementation methods 'artificially complicate the use of third-party applications and distort the neutrality of the framework to the detriment of small publishers financed by advertising.'
According to the French regulator 'multiple consent pop-ups are displayed, making the use of third-party applications in the iOS environment excessively complex.' It added that 'while advertising tracking only needs to be refused once, the user must always confirm their consent a second time.'
The result was an asymmetric system, the antitrust watchdog said, whereby publishers were required to obtain double consent from users for tracking on third-party sites and applications, while Apple did not ask for consent from users of its own applications.
Apple reacted in a statement Monday claiming that ATT 'gives users more control of their privacy through a required, clear, and easy-to-understand prompt about one thing: tracking.' It added 'that prompt is consistent for all developers, including Apple, and we have received strong support for this feature from consumers, privacy advocates, and data protection authorities around the world."
The EU is expected to close two investigations into Apple under its Digital Markets Act in the coming days. One targets the rules of the App store and whether they prevent app developers from informing users about offers outside its App Store free of charge; another concerns Apple's browser options on iPhones.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
French companies to manufacture drones in Ukraine
In the campaign of attrition and position that the war in Ukraine has become, FPV drones have quickly become ubiquitous and vitally essential. Russia, initially relying mainly on Iranian Shaheds, soon put all the power of its war economy into manufacturing them itself. Ukraine, although not able to rely on the same production capacity, is not to be outdone and can rely on its inventiveness, both in the construction and development of its own models and the effectiveness of their use - as demonstrated by the recent 'Spider's Web' operation- but also in the 're-use' of swarms launched by its adversaries. Now Kyiv can count on some major support in this war at a distance: French automotive and defence companies are going to produce drones on Ukrainian soil. Announcing the initiative on LCI, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu spoke of a "win-win" partnership with Ukraine. "We're going to embark on a completely unprecedented partnership where a major company producing French cars - I'm not giving the name because it's up to it to announce it - is going to join forces with a French defence SME to arm production lines in Ukraine to be able to produce drones", the minister announced. These drones, the type of which he did not specify, will be intended for the Ukrainians, " but we are also going to make them available to our own French armies so that we can have permanent tactical and operational training that reflects the reality " of the conflict. As far as expertise and manpower are concerned, production will rest on the Ukrainians' shoulders: they "are better than we are at devising drones and, above all, developing the doctrine that goes with them", Lecornu admitted. " There's also no need to ask French citizens" to go and work on the production line in Ukraine. The announcement follows the discussions that took place on 5 June in Brussels between the Ukrainian and French defence ministers on the joint production of weapons for Ukrainian defence needs. "We are ready to offer this opportunity to the best manufacturers. Ukraine has combat experience and France has a solid industrial base. This is a strategic and mutually beneficial partnership", Ukrainian Miniser of Defence Rustem Umarierov emphasised, thanking Lecornu for his support. At the 28th Ramstein meeting at NATO headquarters, Ukraine and its partners also decided to set up an armaments production mechanism. Several European partners have recently invested in drone production in Ukraine Finland has set up a drone manufacturing plant in cooperation with Ukrainian partners to produce drones for Ukraine and the EU, with mass production scheduled to begin in 2025. The Netherlands has announced a €700m ($798m) investment to advance drone technology and support Ukraine's defence industry. The UK is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to increase drone production for Ukraine in 2025. Norway has redirected its funds to support Ukrainian drone production. According to Jean-Paul Perruche, Lieutenant General and former Director General of the European Union Military Staff, quoted by LCI, France was until then "insufficiently prepared" for this upheaval in warfare practices: "I worked in the research department of the army staff, and we were already talking about drones at the end of the 1980s. But the context at the time was far from high-intensity. I think we fell behind on drones at a time when countries like the United States and others like China were forging ahead. While the French army has a few thousand drones (3,000 for the army), Ukraine intends to use more than 4.5 million drones by 2025, which are responsible for 70% of the destruction of enemy equipment on the front line. Both Poland and Portugal marked the beginning of pride month with parades held on Saturday afternoon. The month of June is celebrated as pride month across the world, with festivals, demonstrations, parades, and other events bringing light to LGBTQ+ issues. In Poland, Pride marches were held in the cities of Gdańsk and Wrocław, just one week after the election of conservative-nationalist Karol Nawrocki, who was endorsed by the Law and Justice party. This was the 17th Pride Parade in Wrocław, and the 10th to take place in Gdańsk. In Wrocław, demonstrators set of from Freedom Square at 14:00, while the "Tri-City Equality March" encompassing the coastal cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot took off at 16:00. Both marches aimed to showcase the cities as inclusive towards all of their residents. Several political leaders confirmed their participation in the marches, including Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister of Equality Katarzyna Kotula, Mayor of Gdańsk Agnieszka Dulkiewicz and Mayor of Sopot Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim. City councilor and president of the Tolerado Association for LGBTQ+ rights, Marta Magott said in an interview with the official website of Gdańsk that the annual march is a "reminder of freedom, solidarity, and equality". The event was significant in Poland, which still ranks as the second-worst country in the EU for LGBTQ+ people, after Romania, according to the advocacy group ILGA-Europe, which publishes an annual "Rainbow Map" ranking the countries based on political and social factors. Poland had occupied the top spot in the rankings for six years, and made marginal progress since the election of the coalition government in 2023, according to the organization. Portugal, on the other hand, is in 11th place. A Pride March will also take place on June 14 in Warsaw. At the 26th LGBTQI+ Pride March in Lisbon on Saturday, thousands of people lined the avenues of the capital's downtown to defend human rights, equality and non-discrimination. The march left Praça do Marquês de Pombal at 16:30 with one of this year's mottoes being "Resist and not just Exist", according to a joint manifesto published by one of the organising movements on social media. At a time when the far-right is closer to political power and institutions in Portugal and Europe, hate speech and discrimination against LGBTQ+ minorities are resurfacing in national society, after more than 50 years of achievements in Portugal for equality and non-discrimination rights. "The political forces that deny our rights are gaining institutional space, marching is reaffirming that we don't back down, that we exist, that we resist," says the Associação ILGA Portugal - Intervenção Lésbica, Gay, Bissexual, Trans e Intersexo (ILGA) on its Facebook account. "Hate speech is trying to become normalised," adds ILGA, and "we cannot ignore the fact that freedom and democracy are under attack," warns. The group recalled that during the 48 years of dictatorship, the fascist regime denied the existence of homosexuals and lesbians, who were persecuted. Portugal lived under a dictatorship for almost 48 years. Founded in 1995, ILGA Portugal is the oldest association defending LGBTQ+ people and their families against discrimination. It is part of ILGA World and the Platform for Fundamental Rights of the European Union Agency. "We are marching for the right to live with dignity, for all the people who came before us, for those who are here and for those who are yet to come." "This is a right that has been won over the years in Portugal, and today it is under threat," said Mariana Mortágua, coordinator of the Left Bloc party, participating in the parade. 'Nowadays, it's difficult to demonstrate for human rights without being threatened by extreme right-wing forces and without the government doing something about it', Mortágua added in statements to Portuguese national television, RTP. "We have to keep fighting for rights," said Hélder Bértolo of the March's organising committee, "it's important to be here, to raise our voices," he added regarding the threat of acquired rights being broken in the face of the rise of the radical right. Bértolo said these rights "have faded", especially in countries like Hungary. "Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and other European countries are also moving in this direction", the spokesperson told reporters. The 2025 edition also saw the participation of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), which joined the 18 associations and groups with political intervention in defence of the LGBTQ+ community.
Local France
7 hours ago
- Local France
Remote working rules, tax errors and Poutine - 6 essential articles for life in France
For those of working age who want to move to France, the opportunity of working remotely for a company back in your home country can seem an ideal solution. As part of a special series of articles on remote working in France , we've already pointed out important things around residency and tax rules to consider, plus your status as an employee or self-employed worker. However, if you're in a Tl:dr frame of mind – and there's a lot to digest – here's a summary of everything you need to know. So you want to move to France and work remotely? It's deadline time for the French income tax declaration – so what should you do if you realise you have made a mistake? Whether it's missing a deadline , filling in the form wrong or forgetting to declare foreign bank accounts, here's a look at how to correct errors. What to do if you make a mistake with your French taxes Spain is pushing ahead with tough new measures to limit the purchase of real estate by non-resident foreigners, in order to try and tackle its housing crisis. So is France – which also has a housing shortage – likely to follow suit? This story has been bubbling away for a while, but here's the latest. Will France follow Spain's 100% tax on non-EU house-buyers? At the end of last month, France's MPs voted in favour of scrapping low-emission zones – but this might not spell the end for France's patchwork of ' zones à faible émission ' and their Crit'Air sticker system. We explain. Advertisement Is this the end of France's Crit'Air zones for drivers? There's a popular misconception that obesity is not a problem in France - whole books have even been written on this subject (such as the famous French Women Don't Get Fat ). In reality, however, not only is it a problem but one the government considers requires a whole new campaign to tackle. So, we ask… How serious is France's obesity problem? If you read French media you may have noticed that the Russian premier's name is spelled Poutine, rather than the more usual western rendering of Putin, and his name is also pronounced differently in news broadcasts. There's a reason for that… Why do the French call the Russian leader Poutine?
France 24
11 hours ago
- France 24
Apple under pressure to shine after AI stumble
Apple will showcase plans for its coveted devices and the software powering them at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicking off Monday in Silicon Valley. The event comes a year after the tech titan said a suite of AI features it dubbed "Apple Intelligence" was heading for iPhones, including an improvement of its much criticized Siri voice assistant. "Apple advertised a lot of features as if they were going to be available, and it just didn't happen," noted Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla. Instead, Apple delayed the rollout of the Siri upgrade, with hopes that it will be available in time for the next iPhone release, expected in the fall. "I don't think there is going to be that much of a celebratory tone at WWDC," the analyst told AFP. "It could be more of a way for Apple to recover some credibility by showing where they're headed." Industry insiders will be watching to see whether Apple addresses the AI stumble or focuses on less splashy announcements, including a rumored overhaul of its operating systems for its line of devices. "The bottom line is Apple seemed to underestimate the AI shift, then over-promised features, and is now racing to catch up," Gene Munster and Brian Baker of Deepwater Asset Management wrote in a WWDC preview note. Rumors also include talk that Apple may add GenAI partnerships with Google or Perplexity to an OpenAI alliance announced a year ago. 'Double black eye' Infusing its lineup with AI is only one of Apple's challenges. Developers, who build apps and tools to run on the company's products, may be keen for Apple to loosen its tight control of access to iPhones. "There's still a lot of strife between Apple and developers," Sevilla said. "Taking 30 percent commissions from them and then failing to deliver on promises for new functionality—that's a double black eye." A lawsuit by Fortnite maker Epic Games ended with Apple being ordered to allow outside payment systems to be used at the US App Store, but developers may want more, according to the analyst. "Apple does need to give an olive branch to the developer community, which has been long-suffering," Sevilla said. "They can't seem to thrive within the restrictive guardrails that Apple has been putting up for decades now." As AI is incorporated into Apple software, the company may need to give developers more ability to sync apps to the platform, according to Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi. "Maybe with AI it's the first time that Apple needs to rethink the open versus closed ecosystem," Milanesi said. Apple on defensive Adding to the WWDC buildup is that the legendary designer behind the iPhone, Jony Ive, has joined with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to create a potential rival device for engaging with AI. "It puts Apple on the defensive because the key designer for your most popular product is saying there is something better than the iPhone," Sevilla said. While WWDC has typically been a software-focused event, Apple might unveil new hardware to show it is still innovating, the analyst speculated. And while unlikely to come up at WWDC, Apple has to deal with tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in his trade war with China, a key market for sales growth as well as the place where most iPhones are made. Trump has also threatened to hit Apple with tariffs if iPhone production wasn't moved to the US, which analysts say is impossible given the costs and capabilities. "The whole idea of having an American-made iPhone is a pipe dream; you'd have to rewrite the rules of global economics," said Sevilla. One of the things Apple has going for it is that its fans are known for their loyalty and likely to remain faithful regardless of how much time it takes the company to get its AI act together, Milanesi said. "Do people want a smarter Siri? Hell yeah," Milanesi said. "But if you are in Apple, you're in Apple and you'll continue to buy their stuff."
