Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Privacy Rules

Italy’s competition authority on December 22, 2025, fined Apple Inc., Apple Distribution International Ltd. and Apple Italia Srl a total of €98.6 million, concluding the company abused a dominant position in the market for supplying platforms to developers for online distribution of applications to iOS users. The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato said the conduct at issue was tied to rules Apple introduced under its App Tracking Transparency framework in April 2021.

The AGCM opened its probe in May 2023 and said it conducted the investigation in coordination with the European Commission and other national competition authorities. The regulator defined the relevant market as the platforms developers use to reach iPhone and iPad users, finding the App Store is the only official channel for such distribution and that Apple holds a dominant position in that market.

The decision centers on how Apple required third party developers to obtain explicit user consent through the ATT prompt before collecting or linking certain data for advertising and tracking purposes. The AGCM concluded those requirements were imposed unilaterally by Apple and were disproportionate to the stated privacy objectives. The authority found that developers were compelled to request the same user consent more than once for identical data uses, effectively duplicating consent requests and creating operational hurdles that distorted competition on the App Store.

Under European competition law, the AGCM ruled this conduct violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits firms in a dominant position from imposing unfair conditions that hinder rivals. The regulator detailed the fine at €98.6 million and said further remedies and procedural steps will follow as the case moves forward.

The Italian sanction adds to a string of enforcement actions across Europe aimed at major platform gatekeepers. A French competition authority imposed a €150 million penalty earlier in the year over a related consent feature, and regulators are increasingly scrutinizing how gatekeeper platforms blend privacy controls with rules that can influence competition and business models for developers and advertisers.

Apple said it intends to appeal the AGCM sanction. The company has not publicly detailed the grounds for its appeal in the AGCM file, and the authority’s full written decision will clarify the legal reasoning and any required changes to Apple’s practices if it is upheld.

Developers and privacy advocates will be watching how appeals unfold because the decision touches on the balance between user privacy protections and the competitive effects of platform governance. If the ruling is sustained it could force Apple to alter how consent flows are presented on iOS and reshape aspects of app monetization that rely on targeted advertising. For mobile users the outcome may affect how often they are asked for consent and how their data is used, while for the broader digital economy the case underscores regulators’ willingness to challenge entrenched platform rules that regulators view as limiting competition.