Apple has been fined €98.6 million ($116 million) by Italian antitrust authorities after its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy framework was found to be restricting competition on the App Store.
The Italian competition authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, or AGCM) said the company’s “absolute dominant position” in app distribution allowed it to “unilaterally impose” ATT rules on third-party app developers without prior consultation. The investigation began in May 2023.
The AGCM said it was not questioning Apple’s decision to adopt safeguards aimed at enhancing user privacy on iOS, but rather the consent requirements were unduly burdensome for developers and “disproportionate” to the stated purpose of the ATT.
Specifically, developers must provide iPhone and iPad users in the EU with both ATT and GDPR-related permission prompts within their apps to ask for users’ permission before processing their data for personalized ads. In contrast, Apple’s own apps and services can obtain this permission with a single tap.
“In particular, third-party app developers will be required to obtain specific consent to collect and link data for advertising purposes through Apple’s ATT prompt,” the AGCM said. “However, such prompts do not meet privacy law requirements and developers would have to double down on consent requests for the same purpose.”
The agency also said the dual consent requirement resulting from the ATT would harm third-party developers who rely on advertising, adding, “Apple should have ensured the same level of privacy protection for users by allowing developers to obtain consent to profiling with a single ‘personalized ads’ prompt.”
In a statement shared with Reuters, Apple said it would appeal the regulator’s decision and reiterated its commitment to “uphold strong privacy protections.” It also said the rules apply equally to all developers, including Apple.
Apple introduced ATT in 2021 as a way for mobile apps to ask users’ explicit consent to access their device’s unique advertising identifier to track users across apps and websites for targeted advertising.
This is not the first time the privacy framework has come into conflict with competition authorities. Back in March 2025, the company was also fined €150 million ($162 million) by France’s competition watchdog for using ATT to leverage its dominant market position in mobile app advertising.
Apple is also facing similar investigations in Poland and Romania. German antitrust authorities announced earlier this month that they were testing Apple’s proposed changes to the ATT. This includes changing the text and formatting of consent prompts while maintaining “core user benefits.”
The company is said to have agreed to introduce neutral consent prompts for both its own services and third-party apps, in addition to simplifying the consent process to help developers obtain user permission in a way that complies with data protection laws.
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