Apple faces French antitrust probe into revamped iPhone ad rules

The French case comes as Apple also faces separate probes from US, European Union, UK and Dutch regulators into its app store and payment system. — AFP

Apple Inc faces a French antitrust probe into planned changes to the way it collects iPhone users’ data after regulators flagged concerns with the US tech giant’s influence over online advertising.

The investigation will “look closely” at whether Apple applied less stringent rules to itself than to other services as it makes privacy changes to curb online tracking in its forthcoming iOS 14 software update, the authority’s chief, Isabelle de Silva told reporters at a Paris press conference on Wednesday. The case shows the need for fast antitrust action into technical issues, she said, promising a final ruling by early 2022 at the latest.