Italy Fines Apple $116 Million Over Implementation of ATT Feature

Italy’s antitrust authority has fined Apple €98.6 million (approximately $116 million) over the way the company implemented its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, concluding that it restricts competition within the App Store ecosystem. According to the regulator, Apple abused its dominant market position by imposing additional user consent requirements on third-party developers when collecting data for personalized advertising.

While the Italian authority does not dispute the purpose of the ATT feature itself or its stated goal of strengthening privacy protection, it takes issue with the fact that independent developers are required to obtain user consent twice in order to comply with European data protection rules. The regulator argues that this “double consent” requirement is disproportionate to the objective of protecting personal data and harms developers whose business models rely on advertising, as well as advertisers and advertising intermediaries.

Apple said it strongly disagrees with the decision and will appeal the fine, arguing that the ruling overlooks the benefits ATT provides to users. “At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and App Tracking Transparency gives users a clear and simple choice about whether they want to be tracked,” the company said in a statement, adding that the rules apply equally to all developers, including Apple itself.

The Italian decision follows a similar move in France, where Apple was fined €150 million earlier this year over the same consent mechanism, further underscoring the growing regulatory pressure in Europe on major technology companies and their role in balancing privacy protection with market competition.