Apple Loses Appeal Against German Regulatory Controls

Apple on Tuesday lost its appeal in Germany's Federal Court of Justice against a regulatory assessment that subjects the company to heightened antitrust scrutiny in the country (via Reuters).

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The German court ruled that the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) was correct in its April 2023 decision to classify Apple under the "extended abuse control" regime of the country's Competition Act. The designation gives German authorities expanded powers to intervene against potential anti-competitive practices by Apple.

The judges affirmed that Apple's economic position across markets meets the threshold for increased oversight, citing the company's extensive financial resources and vertically integrated ecosystem. "The products and services that Apple offers are highly vertically integrated, closely interconnected and largely reserved for users of Apple devices," the court stated. "This is the basis for what the company itself calls the Apple ecosystem."

German regulators had argued that Apple's two billion device active install base gives it a "strong power" to create rules for third parties, and allows Apple to exert control over customers and access to those customers.

Apple contested the decision and claimed that the FCO misrepresented the competitive landscape it faces in Germany. In a statement, Apple said the ruling "discounts the value of a business model that puts user privacy and security at its core."

The extended abuse control designation remains valid for five years and joins Apple with other tech giants including Google, Meta, and Amazon that are already subject to special controls in Germany.

The FCO is currently investigating Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework, which requires apps to get explicit user consent before tracking them. Regulators are examining whether this privacy feature acts as a form of self-preferencing by Apple.

FCO president Andreas Mundt welcomed the ruling: "This means that the highest court has confirmed that Apple is subject to stricter abuse control," he said. "Our ongoing review of Apple's tracking regulation for third-party apps is therefore on a solid footing."

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Top Rated Comments

SanderEvers Avatar
6 hours ago at 05:57 am
Honestly the EU does innovate..



Thanks to the EU we have bottle caps that stay attached to the bottle.

Attachment Image
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MaximizedAction Avatar
5 hours ago at 06:47 am

Honestly the EU does innovate..



Thanks to the EU we have bottle caps that stay attached to the bottle.
That’s a nice anti-european "meme".

The American invention is by a company whose boss likes to do archaic salutes on stage, and the Chinese ones are just male fantasies.

European regulations aren’t always well thought through, but at least they aren’t handing everything over to technocrats for them to later hurt the people, as currently on display in the inventive USA.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aeronauts Avatar
6 hours ago at 06:10 am

Honestly the EU does innovate..



Thanks to the EU we have bottle caps that stay attached to the bottle.
Everyone hates those attached bottle tops but this is nothing to do with regulation, it’s about reducing plastic waste as those tops are now recyclable.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rehkram Avatar
4 hours ago at 07:42 am
The question is this. Which is worse, an unrestricted technocracy with concern for only profit and power? Or a regulated technocracy that can mitigate the worst impulses of tech bros in the public- and national interest?

You only have to look at the USA right now to confirm that an unfettered "broligarchy" is detestably corrupt and politically naïve.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Big_D Avatar
6 hours ago at 06:13 am

Everyone hates those attached bottle tops but this is nothing to do with regulation, it’s about reducing plastic waste as those tops are now recyclable.
I like the attached bottle caps, you can't lose them, when you are out and about.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Big_D Avatar
5 hours ago at 06:34 am

This reads to me like Germany doesn't like that a user has the ability to choose whether or not to be tracked. Is that a government choice? or do they consider Apple as being anti-competitive because app makers lose the tracking ability, and it hits their bottom line?
No, this is the fact that the internal Apple apps don't have to follow the same standards. This simplest thing for Apple to do would be to have the Apple apps turn up in the lists, with the tracking options turned off and the slider disabled, job done.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)