The debate over personalized ads
How App Tracking Transparency works
Personalized advertising has been a hot‑button tech issue for years. Instead of showing random ads that may or may not interest users, platforms serve ads based on interests inferred from the apps and websites people use. In theory, this benefits everyone: users see ads that could genuinely appeal to them, advertisers get better returns on their spend, and free apps and websites earn higher revenue from those ads.
Although the data used for personalized ads is collected in an anonymised form, many still view the practice as an invasion of privacy. Even after Apple built a technology to keep that data anonymous, skepticism persisted.
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency was created to address the concern by letting users decide whether their data can be used for targeted ads. Developers who want to collect such data must first ask for permission.
Unfortunately for Apple, this approach has triggered a wave of lawsuits and antitrust investigations, largely because Apple’s own apps do not display the ATT prompt. The company insists its rules are consistent: its own apps skip the prompt because they do not collect the data it governs, and third‑party apps that also avoid collecting that data are exempt from the prompt requirement.
The newest UK legal challenge
Apple has already faced three complaints submitted to the UK’s relevant antitrust body, the Competition Appeal Tribunal. It lost the first case (though it is currently appealing) and the second case remains unresolved. Reuters reports that the third complaint was filed today.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of app developers, seeks £2 billion (approximately $2.7 billion) and alleges that Apple is abusing its dominance to impose overly restrictive tracking rules on third parties. The claim was lodged at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal on Thursday, following years of regulatory examination of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature.
Apple is facing a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) London lawsuit brought on behalf of app developers over its app tracking rules, with the iPhone maker accused of abusing its power to unfairly impose greater restrictions on third parties. The lawsuit, filed at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal on Thursday, follows years of regulatory scrutiny over Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature.
An unexpected angle
The latest lawsuit has a distinctive twist: it is being led by Ann Pope, who previously served as a senior official at the regulator behind today’s case. Ann Pope, a former senior figure at Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority, is heading the legal action and said Apple’s policy “resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper”.
Ann Pope, a former senior official with Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority who is leading the lawsuit, said Apple’s policy “resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper”.
“This action is important to protect the rights of British businesses that depend on Apple, to ensure that the rules that Apple applies are fair, and to compensate the losses that British companies have suffered,” Pope said in a statement.
She added, “This action is important to protect the rights of British businesses that rely on Apple, to ensure that the rules Apple applies are fair, and to compensate the losses that British companies have suffered.”
Apple had not issued a comment at the time of writing. The company recently agreed to implement eight changes to its ATT rules in the EU after an investigation by the German antitrust regulator.