Apple says regulators in Europe could force it to suspend its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, a move the company argues would harm user privacy rather than promote fair competition.
In a statement to the German Press Agency, Apple said lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy, and other countries threaten ATT’s future. The company insists it’s defending users’ right to control how their data is tracked across apps, not fighting a turf war with advertisers. Apple says it will continue urging regulators to allow the feature to operate unchanged.
A Privacy Tool Under Pressure
Introduced in 2021, App Tracking Transparency gives iPhone users a simple choice: allow or deny apps permission to track their activity across other apps and websites. The prompt appears as a standard system alert, making opt-out as easy as tapping “Ask App Not to Track.”
Regulators, however, question whether Apple applies the same rules to its own services.
Germany and Italy Lead Antitrust Scrutiny
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office issued a preliminary finding in February suggesting that ATT may distort competition. Officials argue Apple could be holding rivals to stricter tracking limits while giving its own ad system more leeway. The watchdog’s concerns carry weight—Germany’s courts have already labeled Apple a company of “paramount cross-market significance,” exposing it to heightened oversight.
Italy’s competition authority is running a separate investigation expected to conclude by December. Apple has offered potential remedies, but it says the current proposals would effectively weaken ATT’s protections.
France Raises the Stakes
In March, France fined Apple €150 million, finding that its privacy framework gave Apple’s ad business a softer treatment than competitors’. The fine didn’t force Apple to alter ATT, but it reinforced growing European skepticism about how Apple manages privacy and competition under the same roof.
What Happens If Apple Pulls ATT
If Apple disables ATT in parts of Europe, users would lose the system-level gate that currently blocks cross-app tracking without consent. Advertisers could regain wider visibility into user behavior, and free apps reliant on ad targeting might celebrate the rollback. Privacy advocates, by contrast, would likely condemn it as a step backward for user choice.
The standoff boils down to competing principles: Apple frames ATT as essential to user privacy, while regulators see an uneven playing field that grants Apple an unfair advantage. For now, both sides are holding firm—leaving the fate of one of Apple’s signature privacy tools hanging in the balance.
