EU may fine Apple 6 million
2022.12.12 11:02
EU may fine Apple 6 million
Budrigannews.com – The top adviser to the French data protection authority’s sanction body suggested on Monday that Apple should pay a fine of 6.3 million euros for violating privacy regulations.
The rapporteur’s recommendations can be ignored by the sanction body of CNIL, but they typically have a significant impact on the watchdog’s final decision.
Francois Pellegrini, the rapporteur, made his recommendation following an investigation by the authority, which was itself sparked by a complaint filed by the lobby group France Digitale last year.
The lobby, which represents the majority of France’s digital entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, alleged in the complaint that Apple, maker of the iPhone (NASDAQ:) iOS 14, its previous operating system, did not meet EU privacy regulations.
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France Digitale argued at the time that, whereas iPhone users were asked in iOS 14 if they were ready to allow installed mobile apps to gather a key identifier used to define campaign ads and send targeted ads, Apple could carry its own targeted ad campaigns without explicitly asking iPhone users for their consent.
App Tracking Transparency, one of Apple’s privacy updates, lets users prevent apps and websites owned by other companies from tracking their activity.
Pellegrini said in his remarks that the previous version of Apple’s operating system, iOS 14.6, did not properly ask users for their consent to collect personal data, which violated the ePrivacy directive of the European Union.
He went on to say that changes made under iOS 15, a later version of Apple’s operating system, permitted such prior consent.
At the hearing, Apple’s privacy head Gary Davis said that the American company was committed to protecting users’ privacy and challenged the conclusions drawn by the rapporteur.
He requested that the amount of any fine not be made public, stating, “The absence of any seriousness to the breach… means that the amount of the fine should be decreased.”
