Advertising tracking prompt: Apple warns of forced shutdown in Germany
iOS only reveals the advertising ID to apps if the user consents. The anti-tracking prompt could disappear due to competition proceedings, Apple warns.
Most users will likely reject this – to the dismay of the advertising industry.
(Image: heise medien)
Will the anti-tracking prompt integrated into iOS soon disappear in Germany? Apple warned for the first time on Thursday that the function might be switched off in European countries – in direct response to competition investigations. These could "force the company to withdraw this function harming European consumers," as Apple stated in a statement to the dpa news agency.
However, the company is making efforts to persuade the responsible authorities to back down and "allow Apple to continue to provide this important privacy tool to our users."
Advertising industry complained about billions in losses
To access the advertising ID specifically assigned by iOS, apps have had to obtain user permission for several years. With knowledge of this ID, advertising tracking can also be carried out across providers; Apple prohibits other forms of cross-provider advertising tracking for app providers on its platform.
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This "App Tracking Transparency" (ATT) function caused massive uproar in the advertising industry after the introduction of iOS 14.5. Advertising giants like Meta/Facebook complained about billions in losses at the time, but now seem to have come to terms with it and have apparently been able to switch to other tracking methods in some cases.
Competition proceedings also in Germany and France
Competition proceedings are underway against Apple in various European countries. In France, the responsible regulators decided at the beginning of the year that the specific implementation is "abusive in terms of competition law" and imposed a fine of 150 million euros on the company. Apple's function prevents app providers from properly fulfilling the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation and makes it "excessively complex" for users, argued France's competition authority.
The Bundeskartellamt also criticized in February, after several years of examination, that the ATT rules only apply to other providers, but not to Apple itself. The company can combine tracking data from the App Store and Apple account for advertising purposes, for example, according to the competition authorities. The company usually points out that such data is not mixed with third-party advertising tracking information or shared with other companies.
(lbe)
