France: French Competition Authority preliminary decision rejecting requests for interim measures against Apple’s implementation of the App tracking transparency (ATT) framework

On 17 March 2021, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) announced that it is rejecting the request for interim measures against Apple but will continue its investigation. Apple is introducing a new feature named ATT for App Tracking Transparency in order to improve the privacy protection of its users. In particular, the ATT framework would require apps and websites that are not owned by Apple to ask for the iPhone holders' explicit consent in order to track them and receive access to Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). The Competition Authority assessed if Apple new requirements in the ATT framework are necessary and proportionate and whether the company is abusing its dominant position. In its preliminary decision, the competition authority noted that the new rules are not anti-competitive and that the General Data Protection Regulation and ePrivacy Regulation allow companies to implement further consent requirements with regards to personal data. However, the competition authority stated that it will continue the investigation to determine if the implementation of the ATT framework leads to “self-preferencing” or the unequal application of requirements.