Apple fined $162 million for hurting app developers with ‘excessively complex’ privacy options

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. France’s competition watchdog (Autorité de la concurrence) ordered Apple to pay €150 million (~$162.4 million) after finding that its App Tracking Transparency system allows the company to abuse its dominance in the mobile app market. In its decision, the authority says the initiative — which Apple pitches as a way to give users more control of their privacy — harms small publishers and “is neither necessary for nor proportionate with” Apple’s goal of protecting personal data. Launched in 2021, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency initiative forces developers to show two pop-ups asking for permission to track users’ data across other apps and websites. Meanwhile, approving location tracking with Apple’s own apps requires only a single tap — and so does opting out of location services on third-party apps. Many companies criticized the move a ... Read full article.