Apple faces £2 billion lawsuit in Britain over tracking rules
Apple has become the defendant in a £2 billion lawsuit in the United Kingdom. The claim was filed with the London Competition Appeal Tribunal on behalf of app developers. The claimants accuse the iPhone maker of abusing its market power through rules governing the tracking of user activity.
As TimesLIVE reports, the case concerns the App Tracking Transparency feature, which Apple launched in 2021. It allows users to decide whether apps may track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
Developers’ claims
Lawyers representing the claimants argue that App Tracking Transparency requirements were stricter for third-party developers than for Apple’s own services. In their view, this gave the company’s advertising ecosystem a competitive advantage.
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The lawsuit is led by Anne Pope, a former senior official at the UK Competition and Markets Authority. She said Apple’s policy caused “very significant harm” to businesses that depend on the company as a key intermediary. According to her, the court proceedings are intended to protect the rights of British companies, ensure fairness in Apple’s rules, and compensate for the losses incurred.
Scrutiny in Europe
Apple has previously said that App Tracking Transparency provides important privacy protections. The company did not immediately comment on the new lawsuit.
The feature has already been the subject of investigations in various European countries. In particular, last month Apple agreed in Germany to change the rules governing app developers’ use of personal data for targeted advertising. Germany’s competition regulator accused Apple of abusing its market power, and the tool was also criticized by Meta, publishers, advertisers, and app developers whose business models depend on advertising tracking. Regulators in France, Italy, Poland, and other countries have also examined the App Tracking Transparency mechanism.
