Polish Competition Regulator is probing Apple for violating competition law
Poland’s competition regulator is investigating Apple over its new privacy rules. Polish authority, UOKiK said that it is examining if the new controls on privacy and personal data processing violated competition law.
The tech giant updated iOS in April with new privacy controls. It aimed these controls to limit digital advertising from iPhone users.
Limited ability to Personalise Advertisements
The Polish regulator said that the new rules have significantly reduced the ability of third-party apps to obtain personal data and send personalized advertisements, Reuters reported. UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said:
“We want to examine whether Apple’s actions may be aimed at eliminating competitors in the market for personalized advertising services, the objective being to better sell their own service.”
Earlier in July, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager also warned Apple against using privacy and security concerns to exclude competition on the App Store. She was of the opinion that customers will neither give up security nor privacy if they use another app store or if they sideload it. In 2020, Vestager proposed the Digital Markets Act to end the big-tech monopoly.
Following her comments, Apple warned about risks of increased cybercrime if the EU forced it to allow sideloading of third-party software. The issue is also related to the 30% commission that Apple charges developers for digital transactions. It is this issue that was at the heart of the Fortnite case. Many developer groups allege that the sideloading is just a distraction to avoid discussions on alternative payment solutions.
Italy’s 10 Million Euro Fine
The Antitrust Authority of Italy has fined both Apple and Google recently, over competition issues. It said that Apple derives economic value from user data. It conducts promotional activities to increase the sale of its products through its commercial platforms, thereby giving rise to a consumption relationship.
However, it found that Apple users had no choice when it came to user consent for data usage.
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