German media organizations and publishers are pressing the nation’s antitrust regulator to dismiss Apple’s suggested modifications to App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and levy a penalty against the company. Here are the specifics.
## A bit of background
Regarding the App Tracking Transparency functionality, which permits users to decide if their information is shared with third parties through cross-application tracking, Apple is engaged in various antitrust disputes, mainly within Europe.
Overall, the allegations are similar: App Tracking Transparency is deemed anticompetitive.
From the perspective of publishers, Apple ought not to obstruct the connection between publications and advertising data. Additionally, they criticize that Apple’s own applications are not governed by the same limitations that ATT imposes.
Naturally, Apple disputes this description, asserting the following:
> “Apple (…) holds itself to a higher standard than it demands of any third-party developer by offering users a clear choice regarding whether they would like personalized ads. Furthermore, Apple has created services and features like Siri, Maps, FaceTime, and iMessage in such a way that it cannot link data across these services even if it wanted to.”
Germany is one of the nations examining whether ATT is anticompetitive. Last year, in an effort to placate the country’s antitrust regulators, the company put forth several modifications to the framework’s regulations.
From Reuters’ initial reporting on Apple’s proposed modifications:
> Apple had consented to implement neutral consent prompts for both its own services and third-party applications, and to largely synchronize the phrasing, content, and visual design of these notifications, stated Andreas Mundt, head of Germany’s Bundeskartellamt.
>
> The firm also proposed streamlining the consent process allowing developers to secure user approval for advertising-related data processing in compliance with data protection legislation.
At that time, German regulators initiated a consultation with industry publications to ascertain whether the proposals resolved their issues.
Ultimately, the response was a definitive no.
## German publishers fight back
As reported by Reuters today:
> Apple’s intended adjustments to its app tracking regulations do not resolve antitrust concerns in the mobile advertising arena, associations representing German publishers and advertisers declared on Tuesday as they implored the nation’s antitrust authority to impose a penalty on the U.S. technology behemoth.
>
> “The proposed commitments would not alter the detrimental impacts of the App Tracking Transparency Framework,” Bernd Nauen, chief executive of the German Advertising Federation, commented in a joint letter signed by the trade organizations.
>
> “Apple would continue to act as the gatekeeper of data and would still dictate who gains access to advertising-relevant information and how businesses can engage with their end users,” he remarked.
Should the German regulatory body determine that Apple is in breach, the company could face fines up to 10% of its annual revenue. This ruling might also adversely affect Apple’s situation in other regions where ATT is still under examination.
9to5Mac contacted Apple for a response, and we will update this post upon receiving a reply.
**Update, 11:01 p.m. ET:** In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple remarked:
> “At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we introduced App Tracking Transparency to provide users with a straightforward method to control whether apps have the authorization to monitor their activity across other companies’ applications and websites. The tracking industry has consistently opposed our efforts to empower users to manage their data, and this is merely their latest endeavor to gain unrestricted access to personal information. We will perpetuate our defense of this essential privacy tool for our users.”