Apple faces £2 bn lawsuit in UK over app privacy feature / Photo: Julie SEBADELHA - AFP/File
-
Municipal Elections: How Service Failure Becomes a Public Health Crisis in South Africa
-
Turkish Energy Minister Highlights Qatar as Key Partner for Regional and Global Energy Security
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
-
Katy Perry Tells Fans Ex-Husband Russell Brand 'Should Be in Jail' During UK Concert
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
Apple faces £2 bn lawsuit in UK over app privacy feature
Apple faces a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit brought by UK app developers who accused Thursday the US tech giant of giving its own advertising services an unfair advantage by imposing tougher privacy rules on third parties.
The claim, filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal by law firm Hausfeld, centres on Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system, which has also come under scrutiny in several European countries.
The feature, introduced by Apple in 2021, requires apps to obtain user consent through a pop-up window before tracking their activity across other apps and websites.
If they decline, the app loses access to information on that user which enables targeted ads.
The claimants argue that the system was "designed and implemented unfairly and without proper consultation, imposing stricter requirements on third-party app developers than on its own services."
That left "UK app developers unable to adapt their business models in time to avoid significant losses," according to a statement by Hausfeld.
Authorities in France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Poland have opened similar probes over ATT, which Apple promotes as a privacy safeguard.
"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," said Ann Pope, a former official at the Competition and Markets Authority, who brought the claim.
Apple was fined 150 million euros last year in France and nearly 100 million euros in Italy in similar cases.
An Apple spokesperson told AFP the feature was created "to give users a simple way to control whether apps have permission to track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites."
"Apple is bound by the exact same requirements as all developers under ATT, and this feature has been embraced by our customers and praised by privacy advocates," the spokesperson added.
The company disputes the allegations made in the claim.
P.Queiroz--PC
