AFP and Reuters reported on the 22nd (local time) that Italy's competition authority (AGCM) imposed a penalty surcharge of 98 million euros (about 170 billion won) on Apple. The decision was based on the finding that Apple abused its dominant market position.
The Italian authority said that day that "Apple violated privacy rules related to third-party developers in the App Store market, where it holds a dominant position."
What the Italian authority took issue with is the "App Tracking Transparency" feature Apple introduced in Apr. 2021. Apple requires prior consent when using personal information such as app users' site usage records.
The authority determined that this feature was asymmetrically designed to favor only Apple. While forcing complex consent procedures on other apps, it created an advantageous advertising and search environment for Apple's own apps.
Earlier, France also imposed a penalty surcharge of 150 million euros (about 260 billion won) on Apple in Mar. for similar reasons. In addition, other European authorities, including Romania and Poland, are investigating similar allegations that Apple abused its dominant position in the app market.