Apple received a boost on Wednesday when the French antitrust watchdog denied advertisers’ requests to halt the iPhone maker’s upcoming privacy feature, but the company is still under investigation for favouring its own products and services unfairly.
Users can now prohibit marketers from monitoring them through several apps, thanks to Apple’s new ‘App Tracking Transparency’ function. While Facebook, app developers, and start-ups whose business models depend on advertisement monitoring have criticised the US tech giant, it claims to protect data privacy rights.
Last year, the French watchdog received a complaint from the IAB France, MMAF, SRI, and UDECAM, arguing that the functionality would not impact Apple’s ability to send targeted advertisements to users of its own iOS apps without their permission.
Isabelle de Silva, the watchdog’s head, said she had worked closely with France’s CNIL data privacy regulator in rejecting the request to suspend the feature. She stated that CNIL believed Apple’s pop-up box would help consumers in an ever-more complicated online advertising climate, and that it was delivered in a simple and impartial manner. De Silva, on the other hand, said she was looking at whether Apple prefers its own services and products, and that a decision will be made by early next year at the latest.
Companies are free to set their own rules, she said at a press conference. This freedom also exists for dominant players and structuring platforms. However, they must exercise caution in establishing their laws. “We take great care to ensure that these regulations are not anti-competitive or enforce unfair terms. The watchdog’s decision that the App Monitoring Disclosure’ functionality was in the best interests of French consumers was welcomed by Apple”, she added.
The complainants expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling, but welcomed the inquiry into Apple’s actions. They claim Apple is abusing its dominant position by requiring developers to adhere to Apple’s terms in order for their applications to appear on the company’s App Store and be accessible to iPhone users.
According to Mediametrie, smartphones accounted for two-thirds of all online time in France in 2020. Apple’s latest feature could harm Facebook’s sales in the first quarter, according to Facebook executives, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg accusing Apple of having every reason to use their dominant platform role to interfere with how our apps and other apps function.
