Apple faces a £2 billion lawsuit in the UK due to its App Tracking Transparency rules implemented in 2021, which allegedly imposed stricter conditions on external developers than on its own services.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday at the London Competition Appeal Tribunal. The claim, which amounts to approximately $2.7 billion, was motivated by app developers who allege they suffered losses due to a policy that, according to the plaintiffs, favored Apple’s advertising activities. Apple has argued that this feature allows users to decide whether they want apps to track their activity across third-party services.
The UK lawsuit questions whether the policies were applied differently between third-party services and Apple’s own. Ann Pope, who leads the case and is a former official of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, stated in a release that Apple’s policy “caused a very high detriment to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper.” She added that the action is crucial to protect the rights of British companies reliant on Apple and to ensure fairness in the rules the company applies.
Apple’s app tracking rules have also been under review in other countries. In Germany, Apple agreed last month to make changes regarding how developers can use personal data for advertising. The German competition authority accused the firm of abusing its market power, and other critics of this system include Meta, publishers, advertisers, and app developers who rely on advertising tracking.
Regulators in France, Italy, and Poland are also investigating the features of Apple’s policies. This context highlights the importance of the lawsuit in London, framing it within increasing regulatory pressure on how Apple manages access to data and advertising within its ecosystem. Apple has not commented on the new lawsuit, but previously defended its App Tracking Transparency framework as providing “important privacy protections.”
This litigation arises at a time of change for Apple, with John Ternus taking over as CEO on September 1, 2026, replacing Tim Cook, who became chairman of the board. Ternus, whose first public appearance will be at the Apple Event on September 9, 2026, will face the challenge of maintaining the company’s competitiveness in an evolving tech landscape.
Source: www.infobae.com
