As we have reported in recent months, Apple has been facing scrutiny in Brazil over accusations of anti-competitive practices with the App Store. Although the company has been given more time to discuss the case, the Brazilian antitrust regulator “Cade” is now investigating Apple over the App Tracking Transparency feature.
According to a report in the Brazilian newspaper O Globo (via MacMagazine), Cade on Thursday began investigating Apple after Meta complained about the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in iOS. More specifically, Meta claims that only third-party apps need to ask users for permission to collect their data, while Apple apps have a free pass to collect and share data with the company.
The Brazilian regulator argues that “there is evidence” that Apple “collects and processes information from its users under more favorable conditions than those offered to third parties.”
The App Tracking Transparency feature was introduced in 2021. With ATT, third-party apps must now show a popup asking iOS users if they allow that specific app to track them across other apps and websites. Unsurprisingly, most people opt out of being tracked.
Companies like Meta, whose revenue comes mainly from online advertising, have been heavily affected by ATT, since user information is crucial for fingerprinting – the process of creating a profile about a person based on their online activities. This data is usually sold to advertisers so that they can better target their audience.
Since the feature was introduced, Meta has publicly criticized Apple many times, calling ATT a “harmful policy.”
Back to the case in Brazil, Apple won’t face a trial for now, since Cade is still examining the company’s terms and conditions for ATT in third-party apps. Of course, if the regulator considers ATT’s terms to be unfair, the company could face penalties in Brazil in the future. A few days ago, France fined Apple $132 million for a similar reason.
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