Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has opened a formal investigation into whether Apple is restricting competition in the mobile advertising market through its privacy rules.
The regulator says it is scrutinizing Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, which was introduced with iOS 14.5 and later versions.
ATT requires apps to request user permission before tracking activity across other apps and websites. While Apple has framed the feature as a major privacy upgrade, regulators in Poland and elsewhere are questioning whether it reshapes the digital advertising landscape in ways that disadvantage third-party developers.
In the announcement, UOKiK said it suspects the policy may curb independent publishers’ ability to gather data for personalized ads, while leaving Apple’s own advertising activities less restricted.
Concerns over power
UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said in a statement, “We suspect that the ATT policy may have misled users about the level of privacy protection while simultaneously increasing Apple’s competitive advantage over independent publishers.”
He added that such behavior “may constitute an abuse of dominant position.”
The Polish authority is therefore examining not only the competitive effects of ATT, but also the clarity of Apple’s messaging to users. This reflects a broader trend among global regulators, who are increasingly treating major platforms’ privacy rules as potential levers of market power—not merely as consumer-protection tools.
If the concerns are validated, Apple could face financial penalties of up to 10% of its annual turnover in Poland, a significant sanction even for one of the world’s largest technology companies.
Apple’s response
Apple defended its policy in an emailed statement to Reuters. The company argued that ATT is an essential tool for users seeking to safeguard their personal information:
“It is no surprise that the data tracking industry continues to oppose our efforts to give users back control over their data, and now intense pressure could force us to withdraw this feature, to the detriment of European consumers.”
Apple added that it intends to cooperate with the Polish competition authority to preserve what it sees as a critical form of privacy protection:
“We will work with the Polish competition authority to ensure Apple can continue to offer users this valuable privacy tool.”
This dispute sits within a wider European debate about data rights, mobile ecosystem control, and the role of dominant platforms in shaping digital advertising. Apple’s privacy measures have been praised by consumer-rights advocates but heavily criticized by advertising-driven businesses, which argue they reduce ad effectiveness and shift power toward Apple.
Europe-wide scrutiny
According to UOKiK, antitrust bodies in Germany, Italy, and Romania are also investigating various aspects of Apple’s ATT policies. Earlier this year, a French regulator fined Apple 150 million euros for issues related to similar concerns, signaling that the company’s privacy practices are under sustained and coordinated examination across the European Union.
The outcomes of these cases could influence future regulation governing how large platforms balance privacy controls with their own commercial interests. If regulators conclude that privacy frameworks can be used in anti-competitive ways, the EU may consider new rules to prevent companies from implementing protective features that also serve to entrench their market dominance.
For advertisers and app developers, the results may determine how easily they can access data needed for targeted advertising—a central revenue stream for many free-to-use apps.
Broader implications
The Polish investigation underscores a growing belief among competition authorities that digital privacy and market fairness are increasingly intertwined. As more tech companies—especially Apple and Google—alter their data policies, governments are keen to ensure these changes do not reshape markets in ways that hinder innovation or reduce consumer choice.
The case will be watched closely not only by industry participants in Central Europe but across global markets. Poland’s findings could add momentum to a shift in how regulators around the world evaluate the competitive impact of platform-level privacy controls.
Anyone hoping for Apple to unleash fireworks at the next WWDC may be disappointed, with early signs pointing to a quieter, refinement-led iOS 27 launch.
