Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Privacy Rules

Italy’s competition authority has fined Apple €98.6 million, accusing the company of abusing its dominant position in the App Store by applying stricter privacy rules to third-party developers than to its own services. It’s the latest reminder that Apple’s control over its ecosystem is still very much under a regulatory microscope.

At the center of the case is how Apple enforces privacy protections, not whether privacy matters, but who those rules apply to, and how evenly they’re enforced.

What Italy Says Apple Did

According to Italy’s antitrust authority, Apple imposed more restrictive data-collection and tracking rules on third-party app developers while allowing its own apps and services greater flexibility. That imbalance, regulators argue, put competing developers at a disadvantage inside Apple’s tightly controlled marketplace.

The issue isn’t framed as Apple caring too much about privacy. It’s about Apple acting as both referee and player - setting rules that shape competition while also competing on the same field.

Privacy as a Competitive Lever

Apple has long positioned privacy as a core product feature, and for users, that stance has been largely popular. Regulators, however, are increasingly interested in how privacy policies can double as competitive barriers when applied selectively.

From that perspective, the fine isn’t just about data protection. It’s about market power and whether Apple’s control over the App Store lets it shape outcomes in ways rivals can’t realistically counter.

Part of a Bigger EU Pattern

Italy’s decision fits into a broader wave of European scrutiny aimed at Big Tech’s app ecosystems. Between national regulators and EU-wide frameworks like the Digital Markets Act, platform operators are facing growing pressure to justify how they manage access, data, and competition.

For Apple, this fine is unlikely to be the last word. But it adds weight to a recurring question regulators keep asking: when one company controls the marketplace, the rules, and a major share of the products inside it, how fair can that system really be?