Apple has warned that it may be forced to turn off its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature across Europe due to what it calls “intense lobbying efforts” by industry groups and rival companies. The statement, issued to the German Press Agency, highlights Apple’s growing tension with European regulators over its privacy policies.
Introduced in May 2021, ATT allows iPhone users to choose whether apps can track their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. The feature significantly reshaped the digital advertising industry, cutting down cross-app tracking by over 50 percent in markets like the United States. However, it also triggered backlash from advertisers and tech companies that rely on user data for targeted ads.
Meta and other firms have since sought ways around the restrictions, while others filed antitrust complaints in Europe, accusing Apple of using ATT to gain a competitive edge. Regulators in Germany, France, and Italy have been scrutinising Apple’s approach, arguing that the company applies different privacy standards to its own apps compared to third-party developers. Earlier this year, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office issued a preliminary finding that ATT could be anticompetitive, and French authorities fined Apple over related concerns.
Apple has denied those claims, insisting that ATT was built to protect user privacy, not to harm competitors. The company argues that its own services, including Siri, Maps, FaceTime, and iMessage, are designed so that Apple cannot link user data across them, even if it wanted to. “Apple holds itself to a higher standard than any third-party developer by giving users a clear choice about personalised ads,” the company said.
Still, Apple contends that coordinated lobbying by advertising groups in Europe could force it to disable ATT altogether, a move the company warns would harm consumers, not help them. “Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers,” Apple said, adding that it will continue to press regulators to preserve the privacy tool.
The dispute underscores a broader clash between Apple’s privacy-first branding and Europe’s growing scrutiny of Big Tech’s business practices. As privacy protections face political and economic pushback, the fate of ATT in Europe could become a key test of how far regulators are willing to go in balancing user control with competition concerns.
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