Italy Fines Apple Nearly €100 Million Over App Privacy Feature

Italy’s competition watchdog has fined Apple close to €100 million after ruling that the company abused its dominant market position through the way it implemented a key app privacy feature on its devices

In a decision announced on Monday, December 22, 2025, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) imposed a fine of €98.6 million on Apple Inc., Apple Distribution International and Apple Italia. The regulator found that Apple’s conduct breached European Union competition rules by unfairly disadvantaging third-party app developers The case centres on Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, introduced in 2021, which requires apps on iPhones and iPads to obtain explicit user consent before tracking activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. While Apple has promoted the feature as a major step to enhance user privacy, Italian authorities concluded that its application goes beyond what is necessary for data protection. According to the AGCM, the ATT rules impose excessive and burdensome obligations on third-party developers, particularly those that depend on targeted advertising for revenue. Developers are required to seek repeated and complex user consents, a process the authority said increases costs, reduces advertising effectiveness and weakens their ability to compete. The regulator also noted that Apple maintains strict control over access to the iOS ecosystem through the App Store, leaving developers with little choice but to comply with the rules if they want to reach iPhone and iPad users. This, the AGCM ruled, amounts to an abuse of dominant position under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The investigation was carried out in coordination with the European Commission and Italy’s data protection authority, reflecting growing regulatory focus on how privacy measures interact with competition in digital markets. Apple had not issued an immediate public response to the ruling. The company has previously argued in similar cases that App Tracking Transparency is designed solely to give users greater control over their personal data and improve transparency in the digital advertising ecosystem. The Italian fine adds to mounting pressure on Apple across Europe. Earlier this year, French regulators also penalised the company over the same privacy framework, while EU authorities have pursued separate cases against Apple under the Digital Markets Act over app store practices. The decision is the latest signal that European regulators are increasingly scrutinising whether privacy tools introduced by major technology firms are being used in ways that may distort competition, even when framed as consumer-protection measures.