Germany charges Apple with antitrust violations over app tracking tool

• Published On: 14 February 2025 at 07:18

The German antitrust authority has charged Apple with abusing its market dominance with its App Tracking Transparency tool, accusing the company of giving itself an unfair advantage over competitors.

The move comes after a three-year investigation by the Federal Cartel Office and could result in daily fines if Apple fails to change its business practices.

Apple's ATT feature, which allows users to prevent advertisers from tracking their activity across apps, has been criticized by Meta Platforms, app developers, and startups that rely on ad-based revenue models. According to Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office, the tool "makes it far more difficult for competing app publishers to access relevant user data for advertising."

In response, Apple defended the feature, claiming that it has even higher standards for itself than for third-party developers. "We will engage constructively with the Federal Cartel Office to ensure users have transparency and control over their data," the company said in a statement to Reuters.

The case was prompted by complaints from industry groups representing publishers, broadcasters, advertisers, and ad tech companies. Thomas Höppner, a partner at law firm Hausfeld, which represents the complainants, described the charges as "groundbreaking," claiming that Apple's policies have reduced consumer choice, increased costs for app developers, and limited protection against ad fraud—all while increasing Apple's own revenues.