Apple faces a £2 billion lawsuit in London over its App Tracking Transparency requirements, which govern permission requests for tracking across other companies’ apps and websites. The claim alleges that Apple imposed stricter conditions on third-party developers than on its own advertising services.
The case is before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, as first reported by Engadget. It seeks roughly £2 billion, or about $2.7 billion, from the iPhone maker.
The dispute centers on consent rules for tracking
App Tracking Transparency governs how apps ask users for permission to follow their activity across other apps and websites. The London claim argues that the privacy framework applied those restrictions unevenly, putting outside app businesses under tighter requirements while Apple’s advertising operation received different treatment.
The allegation puts the focus on enforcement rather than on the existence of the consent system itself. Apple’s privacy settings affect the data that apps can use for advertising and measurement, making the rules commercially significant for developers that depend on advertising services.
The claim adds to Apple’s UK competition disputes
The £2 billion demand arrives as Apple appeals a separate Competition Appeal Tribunal ruling involving about £1.5 billion in App Store commissions. Those cases bring two important parts of Apple’s mobile business before the UK’s specialist competition court: app distribution payments and rules around tracking permission.
A finding that Apple enforced its own tracking requirements differently would test how far a platform owner can apply privacy safeguards to outside developers while operating its own advertising services. The size of the claim also raises the financial stakes beyond the commission dispute already under appeal.
The tribunal must certify the new collective claim before it can proceed. Public details have yet to establish which developers or legal representatives formally make up the case, whether the tribunal will find inconsistent application of the tracking rules, or how Apple’s appeal in the separate App Store commission matter will end.
This article was produced with AI assistance from multi-source reporting and is published under our editorial standards.
