France Fenes Apple 150 million euros for “excessive” contextual windows which allow users to reject monitoring

A typical ATT pop-up requests a user to authorize an application “to follow your activity on applications and websites of other companies” and says that “your data will be used to deliver personalized announcements”.

Agency: “Double consent” too heavy

The agency said that there is an “asymmetry” in which user consent for Apple’s data collection is obtained with a single pop-up, but other publishers are “required to obtain a double consent of users for monitoring on sites and third-party applications”. The press release notes that “if advertising follow -up should only be refused once, the user must always confirm his consent a second time.”

The system would have been less harmful to large companies like Meta and Google and “particularly harmful for small publishers who do not enjoy alternative targeting possibilities, in particular in the absence of sufficient proprietary data”. Although France focuses on how ATT affects small businesses, Apple’s privacy system has also been criticized by Facebook.

The fine of 150 million euros will not make much of a breach in Apple’s income, but Apple must apparently make changes to comply with the French order. The agency’s press release said that the problem “could be avoided by marginal changes in the ATT frame”.

Benoit Coeure, the head of the French competition authority, “said journalists that the regulator had not explained how Apple should change its application, but that it was up to the company to ensure that it now respects the decision,” said Reuters. “The compliance process could take some time,” he added, because Apple awaited decisions on regulators in Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania which also investigate the ATT tool. “

Apple declared in a press release that ATT invite “is consistent for all developers, including Apple, and we have received strong support for this functionality of consumers, privacy defenders and data protection authorities from around the world. Although we are disappointed with today’s decision, France Competition Authority (FCA) does not require specific modifications to ATT.”