Spain: Office of Competition and Consumer Protection opened investigation into Apple over alleged abuse of a dominant position relating to App Tracking Transparency Framework

On 25 November 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) opened an investigation into Apple, Apple Operations International, and Apple Distribution International over alleged abuse of a dominant position relating to the App Tracking Transparency Framework in iOS and iPadOS operating systems from version 14.5 onwards. The investigation concerns allegations that the App Tracking Transparency Framework imposes unfair contractual terms, associates “tracking” only to independent application publishers, while displaying different consent messages for Apple services, which are instead labelled with “personalised advertising.” The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is examining whether these practices increase Apple’s ability to obtain consent for personalised advertising, whether they limit independent application publishers’ access to data for personalised advertising, and whether the practices may mislead users about the level of privacy protection while strengthening Apple’s position in the mobile advertising market. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection stated that the suspected conduct may constitute abuse of a dominant position with potential sanctions of up to 10% of turnover.