France's antitrust regulator fines Apple for abusing dominant position in mobile apps distribution

France's antitrust regulator has fined Apple 150 million euros ($162 million) for abusing its dominant position in the distribution of mobile applications for iOS and iPad devices between April 2021 and July 2023.

The French Competition Authority said on Monday it found that the objective of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework requiring users to consent to data collection by third-party applications was not in itself open to criticism. But it ruled that the "way in which it was implemented was neither necessary nor proportionate to Apple's stated objective of protecting personal data."

The framework requires iPhone or iPad users to consent to data collection by third-party applications in systems operated by Apple, in order to better protect privacy, and displaying a window in a partially standardised format.