Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has mandated changes to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency system to prevent market bias, signalling increased regulatory scrutiny over Apple’s privacy controls in Europe amid rising competition and privacy concerns.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has secured changes from Apple to its App Tracking Transparency system, after arguing that the iPhone maker’s consent prompts could tilt the market in its own favour. According to the regulator, Apple will alter the wording and design of the notifications, while also giving app developers more scope to explain what personalised advertising means for their products and revenue models.
The move is the latest sign that Apple’s privacy controls, introduced with iOS 14.5 in 2021, remain under scrutiny in Europe. ATT requires users to opt in before apps can track them across services for advertising purposes, and Apple has long defended the framework as a clear privacy safeguard. Advertisers, by contrast, have complained that the system has reduced access to data and hurt revenue.
Germany’s competition authority said the revised framework should remove language and symbols that may discourage users from agreeing, and should allow developers to combine Apple’s prompt with consent requests required under data protection law. Reuters reported that Apple accepted the changes after the regulator raised concerns that the existing setup may disadvantage third-party developers relative to Apple’s own services.
The dispute fits a wider European pattern. Italian competition authorities have already said Apple’s ATT design imposes a heavier consent burden on third-party app makers and can depress approval rates for advertising profiling. A background paper from a German advertising group has also argued that the system creates “consent fatigue” and may amount to self-preferencing because Apple’s own prompts are presented differently.
Apple said in a statement to MacRumors that it still believes privacy is a fundamental human right and that the existing prompt is effective, but it has agreed to change the text and format in Germany. The company said it would continue offering ATT in Europe so that users, rather than ad-tech firms or data brokers, remain in control of their data.
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