In May 2021, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a privacy feature designed to empower users by allowing them to decide whether apps can track their activities across other companies’ apps and websites for advertising or data-sharing purposes. This initiative led to a significant decline in cross-app and cross-site tracking, with studies indicating a 54.7% reduction in tracking rates in the United States alone.
The implementation of ATT had an immediate impact on the online advertising industry. Companies like Meta reportedly sought workarounds to maintain their advertising metrics despite the new restrictions. Additionally, various organizations and industry groups challenged Apple’s move, alleging that ATT constituted anticompetitive behavior. These challenges have now escalated to the point where Apple is contemplating disabling the feature in Europe.
In a recent statement to the German Press Agency, Apple expressed concerns over the mounting pressure from lobbying efforts in Europe. The company stated:
Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy, and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers. We will continue to urge the relevant authorities in Germany, Italy, and across Europe to allow Apple to continue providing this important privacy tool to our users.
The German Federal Cartel Office had previously concluded in a preliminary assessment that ATT could be potentially anticompetitive, suggesting that Apple might not be applying the same privacy standards to its own applications. Similarly, in France, Apple faced fines related to ATT earlier this year.
Apple has consistently refuted these allegations, emphasizing its commitment to user privacy. The company asserts:
Apple holds itself to a higher standard than it requires of any third-party developer by providing users with an affirmative choice as to whether they would like personalized ads at all. And Apple has designed services and features such as Siri, Maps, FaceTime, and iMessage such that the company cannot link data across those services even if it wished to do so.
Despite these assurances, regulatory bodies remain unconvinced. Apple perceives the situation as being driven by lobbying efforts aimed at protecting advertisers and ad-supported businesses, potentially at the expense of European consumers’ privacy.
The outcome of this regulatory scrutiny could have significant implications for digital privacy standards and the balance between user rights and business interests in the European market.
