Germany orders Apple to overhaul data consent prompts for third-party apps

Apple has been ordered by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office to revise its data consent prompts on iOS and iPadOS, following a ruling that the current design unfairly steers users away from third-party applications. The regulator determined that the company’s App Tracking Transparency framework discourages consent through the use of warning symbols and ambiguous wording, while simultaneously encouraging users to agree to personalised advertising for Apple’s own services.

In its preliminary assessment, the Bundeskartellamt identified several factors contributing to this steering effect. These include the deployment of discouraging icons, such as a warning hand symbol, on third-party prompts, alongside differing wordings that describe app tracking rather than personalised advertising. The regulator also noted that descriptions of data usage were partially ambiguous, the space allocated to explain the advantages of consent varied, and the order of selection options influenced user behaviour.

The proceeding, which was initiated in June 2022, relies on Section 19a of the German Competition Act and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These provisions enable special abuse control against large digital companies deemed to have paramount significance for competition across markets. Apple was declared to hold this status in April 2023, a decision confirmed by the Federal Cartel Office, placing it under heightened scrutiny as a designated gatekeeper under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

Apple now has four months to neutralise the design and language of the pop-ups. The proposed changes require the removal of discouraging language and symbols from third-party app prompts, replacing them with a more neutral design that mirrors Apple’s own consent requests. Additionally, third-party app developers will be permitted to combine or link Apple’s required pop-ups with other data collection consent prompts, granting them greater freedom to explain the significance of personalised advertising to users.

The App Tracking Transparency prompts, which launched with iOS 14.5, reportedly cost social media apps nearly $10 billion by making cross-app tracking largely opt-in. The regulator’s commitments aim to address concerns that Apple’s dual role as a platform operator and service provider allowed it to impede third-party app publishers. According to Reuters, the changes are expected to apply in almost all European Union countries, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape for app developers across the region.