Apple Under Italian Antitrust Watchdog's Scanner Over Alleged Abuse of App Market Dominance

The watchdog said Apple penalised third-party app developers by imposing "a more restrictive privacy policy" than it applies to itself.

Apple Under Italian Antitrust Watchdog's Scanner Over Alleged Abuse of App Market Dominance

Photo Credit: Reuters

Apple said it applies privacy rules "equally to all developers, including Apple."

Highlights
  • Apple and other US tech giants have come under repeated scrutiny
  • Recently, the European Commission sought more information on Apple Pay
  • In 2021, e-commerce giant Amazon.com was handed a fine by the AGCM
Advertisement

Italy's antitrust agency AGCM said on Thursday it had opened a probe into US technology giant Apple Inc for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the apps market.

The watchdog said Apple penalised third-party app developers by imposing "a more restrictive privacy policy" than it applies to itself, from April 2021.

Furthermore, external app developers are disadvantaged "in terms of the quality of the data made available by Apple," the AGCM said in its statement.

In an emailed statement to Reuters, Apple said it applies privacy rules "equally to all developers, including Apple".

"We will continue to engage constructively with the AGCM to address any of their questions," the company added.

Under European Union competition law, companies found guilty of abuse of market dominance risk a fine of up to 10 percent of annual turnover.

Apple and other US tech giants have come under repeated scrutiny from European regulators.

On Wednesday, the European Commission said it was seeking more information on Apple's mobile payment system as part of an ongoing antitrust case against the iPhone maker.

ITALIAN CASE

According to the Italian watchdog, users of non-Apple apps have more visible and more strongly worded prompts to block data tracking.

Third-party app developers are also offered less comprehensive information about the success of their ad campaigns, the AGCM said.

"Apple's alleged discriminatory conduct may cause a fall in advertising revenues for third-party advertisers, to the benefit of Apple's commercial division," the authority said.

This may drive competitors away from the app development and distribution market, benefitting Apple's internal apps, mobile devices, and iOS operating system, it added.

In 2021, e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc was handed a fine by the AGCM for alleged abuse of a dominant position in the Italian market to favour the adoption of its own logistics service. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023


OnePlus recently launched its first tablet in India, the OnePlus Pad, which is only sold in a Halo Green colour option. With this tablet, OnePlus has stepped into a new territory that's dominated by Apple's iPad. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Apple
The Last of Us Season 2 Production Halted Due to Hollywood Writers’ Strike
BTC Drops Drastically to $26,000 Mark Amid Market Turbulence; Most Cryptocurrencies See Losses
Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat LinkedIn Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News

Advertisement

Follow Us
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »