Apple has been fined €98.6 million ($116 million) by Italy’s antitrust authority after finding that the company’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy framework restricted App Store competition.
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” the ATT rules on third-party app developers, without consulting with them beforehand. The investigation was launched in May 2023.
The AGCM said it’s not calling into question Apple’s decision to adopt safeguards designed to enhance users’ privacy on iOS, but rather it’s taking issue with the consent requirements that are excessively burdensome for developers and “disproportionate” to the stated objectives of ATT.
Specifically, this requires developers to serve both ATT- and GDPR-related permission prompts in apps for iPhone and iPad users in the E.U. to seek user permission before processing their data for personalized ads. In contrast, Apple’s own apps and services can obtain this permission in a single tap.
“In particular, third-party app developers are required to obtain specific consent for the collection and linking of data for advertising purposes through Apple’s ATT prompt,” AGCM said. “However, such a prompt does not meet privacy legislation requirements, forcing developers to double the consent request for the same purpose.”
The authority also said the double consent requirement that arises as a result of ATT harms 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 in a single ‘Personalized Advertising’ prompt.
In a statement shared with Reuters, Apple said it will appeal the regulator’s decision and reiterated its commitment “to defend 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 seek users’ explicit consent in order to access their device’s unique advertising identifier for tracking them across apps and websites for targeted advertising.
This is not the first time the privacy framework has run at odds 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 probes in Poland and Romania. Earlier this month, Germany’s antitrust authority said it was testing Apple’s proposed changes to ATT, which included changes to the text and formatting of the consent prompt 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 so that developers can obtain user permission in a manner that complies with data protection law.
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