Bundeskartellamt investigates Apple’s advertising tracking stoppers

Bomn The Federal Cartel Office now wants to investigate whether the regulations could give preferential treatment to Apple’s own offers or hinder other companies. The group denied the allegations. The “App Tracking Transparency” (ATT) function, announced in summer 2020, was introduced in April 2021 on the iPhone, iPad and the Settopbox Apple TV after loud protests from the advertising industry. Facebook Instagram and WhatsApp), which are heavily dependent on advertising revenue, complained that they could no longer target advertising without tracking and would have to accept large revenue losses. In Germany, leading associations of the media, Internet and advertising industries filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal Cartel Office in April 2021. They claimed that with ATT, the company was abusing its market power and violating antitrust law. The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Andreas Mundt, said that they welcomed data-friendly business models that gave users choices about the use of their data. “However, a company like Apple, which can unilaterally set the rules in its ecosystem and especially in the App Store, should make them competitive.” There are reasonable doubts about this if Apple sets rules for third parties, but they should not apply to Apple of all people. The head of the authority said that users could also restrict Apple’s use of their data in the settings with regard to their use for personalized advertising. However, according to the preliminary status, Apple is not subject to the new and additional ATT regulations. Apple explained that the ATT data protection concept gives users the choice of deciding whether apps may track them or pass on their information to third parties or not. “ATT does not prevent companies from placing advertisements, nor does it restrict the use of the data they receive from users with their consent.” These rules, according to Apple, apply to all developers, including Apple. At the same time, a company spokesman referred to the strong approval that Apple had received from authorities and data protection officers for this function. “Apple adheres to a higher standard of data protection than almost any other company by giving users the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they want personalized advertising or not.” Apple will continue to work constructively with the Federal Cartel Office to clarify all issues.