Apple's Privacy Policy Under Fire: German Regulator Investigates Double Standard

Germany's competition watchdog is investigating Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework (ATTF), alleging a double standard. While Apple enforces strict user data consent rules on third-party developers, the investigation suggests Apple exempts itself, leveraging its vast ecosystem (App Store, Apple ID, connected devices) to collect user data for advertising purposes with less stringent consent requirements. This disparity in treatment, along with simpler consent dialogues for Apple's own apps compared to third-party apps, could constitute unfair competition. Apple has yet to respond.