This would allow Apple to give preference to its own offers or impede other companies.Īlready based on the applicable legislation, and irrespective of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework, all apps have to ask for their users’ consent to track their data.
We have reason to doubt that this is the case when we see that Apple’s rules apply to third parties, but not to Apple itself. A corporation like Apple which is in a position to unilaterally set rules for its ecosystem, in particular for its app store, should make pro-competitive rules. We welcome business models which use data carefully and give users choice as to how their data are used. The press release quoted Andreas Mundt, the President of the Bundeskartellamt, who stated: In particular, Apple’s rules have raised the initial suspicion of self-preferencing and/or impediment of other companies, which will be examined in the proceeding. The Bundeskartellamt has initiated a proceeding against the technology company Apple to review under competition law its tracking rules and the App Tracking Transparency Framework. Last week the German Bundeskartellamt (“Federal Cartel Office”) announced in a press release: