Apple Hit With $2.7 Billion Lawsuit Over App Tracking Rules

[MacRumors]

Apple is facing a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit in London accusing it of imposing stricter App Tracking Transparency rules on third party developers than on its own advertising services (via Reuters).

The case, filed at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal, follows a similar suit in which the tribunal ordered Apple to pay around £1.5 billion over App Store commissions last October, a ruling Apple is appealing. The new claim still needs to be certified before it can proceed.

Article Link: Apple Hit With $2.7 Billion Lawsuit Over App Tracking Rules

 

[JulienCasey]

Apple keeps getting grounded by multiple governments.

 

[Core.2]

Might just break even if Apple just cut off selling products to the EU with these constant fines and lawsuits.

 

[jimothyGator]

Won't someone think of the advertisers?!?

 

[germanbeer007]

don't worry, Apple will make sure London's customers will pay the legal bill

 

[Astuces iOS]

Leave Apple please, there is nothing wrong with this pop up

 

[Graphate]

Presumably the goal of these tracker developers is to remove this protection and disclosure, rather than to require Apple to include the disclosure.

This is not a comment on the law or merits.

It might be that there are key differences between Apple’s incidental tracking and these developers tracking for commerce. Maybe not, but does Apple sell the tracking data or use it to push marketing if the personalized ads setting is turned off? It just feels different if the product is the phone that collects data to provide the service, than if the product is an app that collects data and sells it. I need to think about it a little more.

 

[Friendlier-Rebel]

Might just break even if Apple just cut off selling products to the EU with these constant fines and lawsuits.

Let’s remember: London -> UK -> not in the EU

 

[uuee6543]

Might just break even if Apple just cut off selling products to the EU with these constant fines and lawsuits.

This is the UK government. Uk isn’t in the EU

 

[Hajj.david]

This is the UK government. Uk isn’t in the EU

But Apple groups UK, Europe, Russia, and the ME as "EU"

 

[StudioMacs]

Apple doesn’t have the “ask not to track” pop up for their apps because they don’t track across apps. This will go nowhere.

 

[Hammerd]

Apple keeps getting grounded by multiple governments.

And rightfully so. There is a world between their polished perceived image and what they do behind the scenes to make so much money.
(I am not specifically talking about ad tracking)

 

[McScooby]

Apple doesn’t have the “ask not to track” pop up for their apps because they don’t track across apps. This will go nowhere.

Not even with Siri AI that has to have visibility on the whole device?🤔

 

[beltzak]

Not even with Siri AI that has to have visibility on the whole device?🤔

Like the Update to macOS Tahoe or iOS26 notifications we get every other day that it’s not possible to turn it off even with don’t search updates and don’t automatically update settings are off it keeps popping every time. Same thing with the AppleTV with the additional issue that you may push the update button when in real you may only want to wake up from sleep state.

Sometimes I wish consumer organizations were more powerful than these bloody mega corporations so they could fine Apple with 50.000 million dollar for this abusing practices.

Like the need to replace a whole motherboard with the cpu, ram, ssd, GPU for just a broken part.

 

[StudioMacs]

Not even with Siri AI that has to have visibility on the whole device?🤔

Apple’s first-party apps do not track users across apps and websites to build ad profiles. Therefore, they don't trigger a prompt designed specifically to regulate cross-app tracking.

If you download an app in the App Store, Apple will record that and may use it to recommend apps in the App Store itself. If you want to stop Apple from using even this siloed data, you can turn off personalized ads entirely by navigating to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising

 

[Amazing Iceman]

All the hungry lawyers
Where do they all come from?
All the hungry lawyers
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the hungry lawyers
Ah, look at all the hungry lawyers

 

[Porco]

The correct response here would be Apple announcing a new anti-tracking regime which is even more stringent, to apply equally to themselves and everyone else, and to thank the complainants for raising the issue and giving it such important attention.

 

[zarmanto]

Oh look... yet another lawsuit targeting Apple. Must be a day ending in Y.

(Honestly... whatever Apple pays their lawyers, I seriously doubt that it's enough.)

 

[Abydos]

looks like a question of which group of schmoos you trust more, the ones you elect and their appointees or the corporate types. - seems like a lose lose situation

 

[rorschach]

Not this again.

App Tracking Transparency consent is only required to track users across other apps and websites they do not own. For example, Meta tracking your activity on a blog that has an embedded Facebook widget.

Companies are not required to get consent to track you across their own apps and websites. Meta does not need permission to track you across Facebook and Instagram.

Apple apps don’t show the consent dialog because Apple does not track you in third party apps and websites.

So no, Apple is not holding itself to a different standard.

 

[Rogifan]

Can somebody sue over the gross ads that take up so much space in Apple News (and I’ve seen much worse than these examples)? Can fanboy Neil Cybart really defend stuff like this?

 

[Dirk Pieters]

But Apple groups UK, Europe, Russia, and the ME as "EU"

Let’s remember: London -> UK -> not in the EU

Companies often use EMEA as a region. EMEA stands for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Even if the UK left the EU, it's still geographically situated in Europe.

 

[boswald]

Why are these governments so eager to bring down Apple? What do they want, Android only? Then they'll just complain about the lack of competition with Google and sue them to oblivion, leaving us all with dumb phones again. It makes no sense. Accountability is important, but at what cost?

 

[GuyDouche]

Might just break even if Apple just cut off selling products to the EU with these constant fines and lawsuits.

You're missing the point. Apple is quick to point fingers at others while imposing strict policies. While they don't enforce such practices for their own business. They figure, even if they catch a lawsuit and pay a fine, they will still net more money after said suit, all due to being first and playing unfairly, until they get caught. A typical strategic move from Apple ever since AntennaeGate.

 

[centauratlas]

Might just break even if Apple just cut off selling products to the EU with these constant fines and lawsuits.

The thing is that many of the people celebrating this will then be complaining about higher prices. Apple doesn't pay these fines, people do: shareholders (IRAs, 401ks, individual owners) through lower returns, customers through higher prices, and employees through lower salaries. They just export these costs around the world so "someone else" is paying some of it. When many places do it, the "someone else" is all of us. It might "only" be a few dollars per phone for this, but it adds up.