The French antitrust regulator announced that it has fined the American multinational corporation "Apple" 150 million euros for distorting competition and abusing its dominant position in advertising mobile applications on its devices through privacy control tools.
The ATT tool allows iPhone and iPad users to decide which apps can track their activity, and digital advertising and mobile gaming companies have complained that it has increased advertising prices and made it more difficult for brands to advertise on Apple's platforms, Nezavisne novine reports.
The methods of implementing this system, presented as additional protection of users' private data, "are not in themselves subject to criticism, but the ways of its implementation are neither necessary nor proportionate," the French regulator believes.
Smaller app publishers are being "particularly penalized" by this, as these operators rely heavily on third-party data collection to fund their operations.
Apple said it was disappointed with the decision, but added that the French competition authority had not requested any specific changes to the transparency of app tracking.
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