Apple to Revise App Data Consent Rules in Germany

Apple will change its app data consent rules for personalized advertising on iPhones and iPads after Germany's competition authority, Bundeskartellamt, raised concerns about the treatment of third-party apps. The Bundeskartellamt announced that Apple had made commitments to address these concerns, which are now binding, concluding the competition proceedings.

The authority's investigation, initiated in June 2022, found that Apple's App Tracking Transparency Framework required third-party app providers to obtain additional consent through an Apple-defined prompt, while not applying the same rules to Apple's own apps. Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt stated that the new commitments will align consent prompts for both Apple and third-party apps, allowing greater freedom for app publishers to combine consent requests.

Apple has four months to implement these changes, which will be monitored by an independent trustee and will remain in effect for seven years.