Italian antitrust watchdog AGCM has launched a probe into Apple  over alleged abuse of its dominant position in the apps market, as reported by Reuters on May 11. AGCM accused Apple of imposing “a more restrictive privacy policy” on third-party app developers than the one applied to its own apps. Additionally, the Italian regulator stated that external app developers are also at a disadvantage in terms of the quality of the data made available by Apple, such as the effectiveness of their advertising on iOS. In response, Apple asserted that it applies privacy rules “equally to all developers, including Apple.”

Two years ago, Apple introduced the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which requires all iOS apps to ask users for permission before sharing their data. Users can choose to consent or deny tracking in permission popups that show the data types an app may collect. However, AGCM disclosed that users of non-Apple apps are presented with more visible and strongly worded prompts to block data tracking. According to the Italian regulator, Apple’s alleged discriminatory behavior may cause a fall in advertising revenue for third-party advertisers while creating an unfair advantage for its own ‘personalized’ ads. Italy is not the first country seeking to curb Apple’s strong market power. Since the introduction of ATT, antitrust authorities in Germany, Poland, and the UK have launched investigations into Apple’s App Store. Under European Union competition law, companies found guilty of abusing market dominance could face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/italys-antitrust-probes-apple-alleged-abuse-app-market-dominance-2023-05-11/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/11/italy-antitrust-apple-apps/cc31c9b6-efe8-11ed-b67d-a219ec5dfd30_story.html

https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/11/apple-att-italy-antitrust/