‘French regulator is considering investigating Apple for its app tracking policy’

The French competition authority may soon investigate Apple, insiders report to news website Axios. The French regulator would do this because of complaints about changes to Apple’s app tracking policy from 2021.

The French competition authority wants to submit a so-called ‘statement of objections’ to the parties involved in the case ‘in the coming weeks’, reports Axios on Tuesday. This would trigger a formal antitrust investigation into Apple’s changed privacy policy. It would be the first major government action against Apple’s policy change.

The expected investigation follows complaints from the French advertising sector in 2020. They state that Apple’s changed app tracking policy is insufficiently in line with the European Union’s privacy rules. Apple would also not hold itself to the same standards for targeted advertising as competitors. The company itself would show advertisements to iOS users based on app tracking data, the parties claim.

Apple introduced its revised privacy policy in 2021, with the introduction of iOS 14.5. The change made it easier for iOS users to opt out of being tracked by apps for targeted ads. Since the change, apps must request permission before they can track users. Several companies protested against the new privacy options. According to app developers, such opt-in tracking would cause a major drop in advertising revenue. Competitors also argue that Apple used the changes to help grow its own advertising division, Axios reports.