France’s anti-trust regulator fines Apple €150m over privacy feature

The Apple logo is illuminated at a store in Munich, Germany. Picture: Matthias Schrader/AP

France’s anti-trust watchdog has fined Apple €150m over a privacy feature protecting users from apps snooping on them because its introduction resulted in abuse of competition law.

The French Competition Authority said the aim of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) requiring iPhone and iPad apps to ask users for permission before tracking them was not in itself open to criticism.