Apple Fined 8 Million Euros By the French Data Protection Authority

Apple advertises that the privacy of users is given special attention. However, this does not always prevent the company from handling data carelessly. As a result, the group was sentenced to pay a fine.

The fine was imposed by the French data protection authority CNIL. After investigations, the latter saw it as proof that Apple had collected data from iPhone owners for targeted advertising without obtaining the appropriate consent. However, the scope of the fine, at EUR 8 million, is comparatively small.

So far, Apple has had to accept significantly fewer sanctions for violating data protection laws than the competition. This is due to the fact that the business model is less based on the evaluation of information about the users. For the Android operator Google, for example, the main source of income is the use of user data to optimize advertising.

Advertising promises are different

This is also used offensively by Apple. The group makes data protection a selling point for its devices and advertises with the slogan “Privacy. That’s iPhone.” on billboards several meters high all over the world. However, the fine imposed in France is the latest evidence that Apple is not always the great guardian of privacy that the company likes to present itself as.

In the specific case, the group had failed to “give the consent of the French iPhone users (version iOS 14.6) before evaluating identifiers for advertising purposes on their terminals,” according to the CNIL. Apple, on the other hand, does not want to accept the penalty.

“We are disappointed with this decision since the CNIL has previously recognized that the way we use search ads on the App Store puts user privacy first, and we will appeal,” said a spokesperson. “Apple Search Ads goes further than any other digital advertising platform we know of by providing users with a clear choice as to whether they want personalized ads or not.”