Italy’s competition authority has imposed a $115 million (€98.6 million) fine on Apple, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its dominant position in the mobile app market.
The Italian regulator, AGCM, said Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy, introduced in 2021, imposed unfair obligations on third-party developers.
Under the policy, developers must obtain users’ explicit consent to collect and link data for advertising purposes.
AGCM found that Apple’s implementation required developers to seek consent twice for the same data use. This “double consent” process was deemed unnecessary for privacy protection and harmful to developers, advertisers, and advertising platforms, as it limited the collection of data crucial for personalised advertising.
The authority described the ATT rules as disproportionate relative to Apple’s stated privacy goals and said the company could have safeguarded users’ data with a simpler, single-step consent system.
The investigation, conducted alongside the European Commission, other national competition authorities, and Italy’s Data Protection Authority, concluded that Apple occupies a “super-dominant” position in the iOS app market.
AGCM ruled that the company violated Article 102 of the EU Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which forbids abuse of a dominant market position.
Apple, which distributes apps worldwide via its App Store, has previously defended ATT as a core measure for user privacy protection.
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before daw...
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Ti...
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has said the bloc is unlikely to reach agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia at Monda...
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” followin...
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following ear...
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before dawn on Monday (23 February), authorities said. A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among those injured.
Against a backdrop of mounting environmental pressure across Central Asia, the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has announced that the Regional Ecological Summit (RES) 2026 will take place from 22–24 April in Astana.
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times has reported. The agreement, signed in December in Moscow, will see Russia deliver 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has said the bloc is unlikely to reach agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia at Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, as continued Hungarian opposition keeps consensus out of reach.
A seven-month-old Japanese macaque has drawn international attention after forming an unusual bond with a stuffed orangutan toy after being rejected by its mother.
Divers have recovered the bodies of seven Chinese tourists and a Russian driver after their minibus broke through the ice of on Lake Baikal in Russia, authorities said.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday (21 February) that he will raise temporary tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports from 10% to 15%, the maximum allowed under the law, after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program.
Pakistan said it carried out cross-border strikes on militant targets inside Afghanistan after blaming a series of recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it said were operating from Afghan territory.
Iran announced on Saturday (21 February) that it has designated the naval and air forces of European Union member states as “terrorist entities” in a reciprocal move after the EU blacklisted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before dawn on Monday (23 February), authorities said. A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among those injured.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has said the bloc is unlikely to reach agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia at Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, as continued Hungarian opposition keeps consensus out of reach.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
China says it's making a "full assessment" of the U.S. Supreme Court's tariff ruling and urged Washington to lift "relevant unilateral tariff measures" on its trading partners, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement on Monday (23 February).
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 23rd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment