German publishers hope that Apple will be hit with fines and forced to change App Tracking Transparency rules after an antitrust investigation. The feature allegedly favors Apple's apps.
The German Association of the Branded Goods Industry and various other groups are appealing to the German antitrust regulators. In December, the Bundeskartellamt, Germany's federal antitrust authority, announced a review of Apple's App Tracking Transparency features.
According to a report from Reuters, the various German groups say Apple's proposed changes to App Tracking Transparency don't address the issues in the mobile advertising market. Apple had proposed more neutral language for its prompts and an easier process for developers requesting permission to use advertising data.
However, Apple didn't promise to change how it measures advertising performance without requiring users to opt in. That is the core of the problem, as advertisers say this gives Apple preferential treatment on its platforms.
"The proposed commitments would not change the negative effects of the App Tracking Transparency Framework," Bernd Nauen, chief executive of the German Advertising Federation, said in the letter. "Apple would remain the data gatekeeper and would continue to decide who gets access to advertising-relevant data and how companies can communicate with their end customers."
As Apple increasingly relies on advertising in its App Store, Apple News, and other locations, App Tracking Transparency is being seen as a problem. When the feature launched, Meta was quick to share that it losing significant income due to Apple's privacy measure.
Apple provided the following statement to AppleInsider:
"At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we introduced App Tracking Transparency to give users a simple way to control whether apps have permission to track their activity across other companies' apps and websites. The tracking industry has consistently fought our efforts to keep users in control of their data, and this is just their latest attempt to gain unfettered access to personal information."
"We will continue to defend this important privacy tool for our users."
Other regulators have investigated the feature, though Apple was allowed to keep it turned on in France. The German groups have another idea.
The hope is that German antitrust regulators will not only fine Apple but end its ability to use App Tracking Transparency. Of course, that would be a big win for advertisers in the country, as it would take down privacy protections for Apple users.
