7 hours ago
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(AWP Alliance News) - Apple is making changes to its iPhone app-tracking prompt in European countries following criticism from competition regulators and pushback from the advertising industry, bringing an investigation by Germany's Federal Cartel Office to an end.
The prompt allows users to stop apps from collecting their activity across other services for advertising purposes. The advertising industry has opposed it, while Apple points to users' right to privacy.
The German cartel office had expressed concern that Apple was imposing more stringent requirements on third-party app providers than on its own services.
Under Germany's data laws for large digital companies, a company cannot "treat its own offerings better than those of its competitors. This is precisely where our competition concerns arose," cartel office President Andreas Mundt said in a statement.
The changes include removing the word "tracking" from the selection page. App operators will also be able to ask users again after a year for permission to track their activity across other apps and websites.
The wording of the options will also change. Until now, the first option reads "Ask App Not to Track" and the second is "Allow." In future, there will simply be a choice between "Allow" and "Reject."
The new version of the prompt will only be shown to users who are currently in the European Union, regardless of their country of origin.
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