Italy’s competition watchdog fined Apple more than 98 million euros ($114.8 million), saying the company abused its dominance in the digital economy through its app-tracking transparency policy.
The AGCM said Monday that Apple imposes unfair privacy rules on app developers by requiring them to gain users’ consent to collect and use data for advertising through a specific prompt. The watchdog said the prompt essentially forces app developers to ask for consent twice for the same purpose.
It said Apple’s app-tracking transparency terms harm the interests of Apple’s commercial partners.
Apple said its app-tracking transparency policy lets users easily decide whether apps can track their online activity, saying that its policy has received support from privacy agencies and that it will continue to defend the system. “We will continue to defend strong privacy protections for our users as we appeal,” a company spokesperson said.
The AGCM said that Apple holds a “super-dominant” position in the market through its App Store.
“Since user data are a key input for personalized online advertising, the double consent request that inevitably arises from the ATT policy, as implemented, restricts the collection, linking and use of such data,” the regulator said.
Apple has come under fire in Europe over the terms and conditions it offers developers that rely on its iPhone and iPad App Stores to reach customers. Germany’s competition watchdog is currently reviewing changes Apple offered to make to its app-tracking transparency policy after it said they might give the tech company’s own software an unfair advantage over competing apps.
Separately, the European Commission—the European Union’s executive arm tasked with antitrust enforcement—fined Apple 500 million euros earlier this year over alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s new rulebook designed to rein in the market power of the world’s largest technology companies.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com