Apple has been sued for 2 billion pounds (about 2.7 billion US dollars) in the UK after a group of app developers accused the company of unfairly using its power as a platform controller to impose restrictions on other providers. The case was filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London on Thursday (September 3), following years of regulatory scrutiny of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature. Since its launch in 2021, the feature has allowed users to choose whether to permit apps to track their activity across other companies' apps and websites. However, lawyers for the claimants argue that the feature imposes stricter restrictions on external app developers than on Apple's own services, giving Apple's advertising business a competitive advantage. Anne Pope, a former senior official at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who is leading the case, said Apple's policies have caused significant harm to businesses that rely on its platform, and the lawsuit aims to protect the rights of UK businesses, push Apple to apply rules fairly, and seek compensation for damages. Apple, for its part, maintains that the ATT feature was designed to make it easier for users to make decisions and that Apple is subject to the same requirements as all app developers. The feature is also under review by regulators in several European countries, particularly Germany, where in August Apple agreed to change its rules regarding the use of personal data for targeted advertising.
Apple Inc.Apple sued in UK for $2.7B over ATT feature allegedly favoring its own ads, harming app developers.
