The French competition regulator has rejected a request from advertising companies and publishers to block Apple Inc.’s plan to restrict the use of mobile applications by individuals.
In a possible blow to smaller companies hoping to block major technology privacy initiatives for antitrust reasons, the French regulator said on Wednesday that Apple’s plan to require applications to get users’ consent to track them “does not appear to be abusive. ”
“We cannot intervene just because there could be a negative impact on companies in the ecosystem,” Isabelle de Silva, head of the French competition authority, told a news conference. “At this stage, we have not found any glaring examples of discrimination.”
The authority said, however, that it intends to pursue a thorough investigation to determine whether Apple’s changes could be considered “self-preferential” by imposing stricter rules on third-party applications than on itself. This investigation could be extended to next year, Ms. de Silva said.
Wednesday’s decision removes a source of doubt about Apple’s plans, announced last year, to require apps on its smartphones and tablets to get opt-in permission from users before collecting their unique ad IDs. of letters and numbers that companies use to identify people in order to show them targeted ads and to monitor the performance of their advertising campaigns.