Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Apple Faces £2 Billion UK Lawsuit Over App Tracking Rules
Apple is being sued in the United Kingdom over a privacy feature called App Tracking Transparency.
The claim is described as worth £2 billion in one report and €2 billion in another, with both reports giving a value of about $2.7 billion.
The feature asks people whether an app may follow their activity across other apps and websites.
Apple says this gives users a simple choice about their information.
The lawyers bringing the case say Apple made outside app developers follow stricter rules than Apple’s own services.
They say this gave Apple’s advertising business an unfair advantage.
They also say some UK app developers lost money because they could not change their businesses quickly enough.
Ann Pope, a former British competition official, is leading the claim.
Competition authorities in several European countries have also examined the system.
Apple faces a reported £2 billion or €2 billion lawsuit in London over its App Tracking Transparency system.
The claim alleges Apple imposed tougher tracking requirements on third-party developers than on its own services.
Lawyers say the rules gave Apple’s advertising ecosystem a competitive advantage and caused losses for UK app developers.
Apple says App Tracking Transparency gives users control over whether apps can track activity across companies’ apps and websites.
The policy has faced regulatory scrutiny in several European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Romania.
- Who
- Apple, UK app developers represented by Hausfeld, and Ann Pope, a former Competition and Markets Authority official leading the claim.
- What
- A legal claim alleging that Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules unfairly disadvantage third-party app developers and benefit Apple’s advertising services.
- When
- The claim was filed on a Thursday; Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in 2021.
- Where
- The claim was filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.
- Why
- The claimants say Apple applies stricter tracking requirements to third-party developers than to its own services, harming businesses and giving Apple a competitive advantage.
Claimants and Regulators
Apple
Rules for developers
Claimants and Regulators
The claimants say ATT was designed and implemented unfairly, without proper consultation, and imposed stricter requirements on third-party developers than on Apple’s own services.
Apple
Apple says it is bound by the exact same ATT requirements as all developers.
Competitive impact
Claimants and Regulators
Lawyers and Ann Pope say the policy gave Apple’s advertising ecosystem an advantage and caused significant harm or losses to businesses dependent on Apple as a gatekeeper.
Apple
Apple defends ATT as a privacy safeguard that gives users control over tracking; it says customers have embraced the feature and privacy advocates have praised it.
Regulatory response
Claimants and Regulators
Competition authorities in multiple European countries have scrutinized ATT, and Apple agreed to changes to developer data-use rules in Germany. France and Italy also imposed fines in similar cases, according to one report.
Apple
Apple maintains that ATT was introduced to obtain user permission before apps track activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
- Claim amount
- Reported as £2 billion in one article and €2 billion in another; both reports give an approximate value of $2.7 billion.
- Defendant
- Apple
- Court
- Competition Appeal Tribunal, London
- Feature involved
- App Tracking Transparency (ATT)
- Launch year
- 2021
- Claimants
- UK app developers represented by law firm Hausfeld
- European scrutiny
- Authorities in Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and elsewhere have investigated or examined ATT.
