Apple (AAPL.O) was investigated by Italy’s antitrust body AGCM on Thursday for allegedly abusing its dominance in the applications industry.
From April 2021, the watchdog said that Apple penalized third-party app developers with “a more restrictive privacy policy” than it applies to itself.
“In terms of the quality of the data made available by Apple,” the AGCM concluded, external app developers are disadvantaged. Apple Italy’s spokesman was unavailable.
Abuse of market dominance can result in a 10% turnover penalty under EU competition law.
The Italian watchdog said non-Apple app users have clearer and stronger data tracking prompts.
The AGCM stated third-party app makers receive less information regarding their marketing campaign success.
“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 stated.
This might deter competitors from app creation and distribution, benefiting Apple’s internal apps, mobile devices, and iOS operating system.
European regulators have often scrutinized tech titans like Apple.
In an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Apple, the EU requested further details on its mobile payment system on Wednesday.
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