Germany to Investigate Apple's Tracking Rules

Bundeskartellamt, the German competition regulator, started a probe to review Apple's rules on tracking third-party apps. The body suspects rules give Apple's apps and services preferential treatment and hinder other companies.

The regulator said it would examine Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework, which the company introduced for third-party apps in April 2021. The framework establishes certain conditions for user tracking as defined by Apple and requires users to opt-in to tracking. Preliminary findings indicated while users could restrict the use of their data for personalized advertising on third-party apps, Apple was not subject to the rules of the framework.

Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt explained the regulator welcomed business models which employ data and give users a choice of how their data is used but warned a company like Apple should make pro-competitive rules. “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. This would allow Apple to preference its offers or impede other companies.“