Apple may face antitrust action from France

The French Competition Authority is likely to launch an antitrust investigation into Apple very soon over complaints related to changes made to Apple's app tracking policies in 2021, sources told Trade Algo.

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It is important to note why a formal investigation would be the first major government step taken globally against Apple. This is in relation to privacy rule changes that have upset the digital advertising world as we know it.

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There is a new development in the news: French regulators appear to be favoring issuing a formal "Statement of Objections" to the parties involved in the matter in the next few weeks, sources told Trade Algo.

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• It would be a significant step for the authority to signal to the consumer groups that made the initial complaints, as well as to Apple, that it had found evidence of anticompetitive behavior on the part of the company in its initial investigation of the complaints.

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Apple is accused of failing to comply with European Union privacy rules in its app tracking changes, and Apple also failed to hold itself to the same ad targeting standards that it forced on its competitors because it targeted iOS users with ads based on app tracking data, according to the 2020 complaint.

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• IAB France, Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), SRI, and UDECAM have filed a complaint jointly on behalf of four French advertising trade associations.

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There is no comment from either Apple or the French Competition Authority regarding this matter.

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• As a result of the Authority's investigation in 2021, it concluded that the company's changes did "not appear to reflect any abuse of its dominant position by AppleApple's part."

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• It was stated in that statement that the authority would not issue urgent interim measures against Apple but would still continue to investigate the matter.

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In 2021, Apple introduced a change to its app tracking policy that made it easier for iPhone users to opt out of being tracked across other apps on their phones across the company's apps.

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• Apple's ad business has continued to grow despite those changes, while rivals, such as Meta among them, have lost billions of dollars in revenue as a result.

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• Although Apple claims that the changes are designed to enhance privacy, competitors allege that Apple has taken advantage of the changes to boost its own advertising revenue by leveraging the changes.