Proceedings against Apple

Based on its mobile end devices such as the iPhone, Apple operates a wide-ranging digital ecosystem which is of great importance to competition not only in Germany but also in Europe and worldwide. With its proprietary products iOS and the App Store, Apple holds a key position for competition as well as for gaining access to its ecosystem and to Apple customers. In April 2023 the Bundeskartellamt established that Apple is of paramount significance for competition across markets. Apple has appealed this decision to the Federal Court of Justice.

App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATTF)

In June 2022 the Bundeskartellamt initiated a proceeding to examine Apple’s tracking rules for third-party apps. In particular, the authority is looking into the initial suspicion that these rules may favour Apple’s own offerings and/or impede other companies. Since the implementation of the ATTF in April 2021, providers offering apps in the iOS App Store have had to obtain additional consent from users before gaining access to certain data for advertising purposes. However, the strict requirements under the ATTF only apply to third-party app providers, not to Apple itself.In the Bundeskartellamt’s preliminary view, this may be prohibited under the special abuse control provisions for large digital companies (Section 19a(2) of the German Competition Act (GWB)) and under the general abuse control provisions of Article 102 TFEU. 

In Febraury 2025 the Bundeskartellamt sent Apple its preliminary legal assessment of its ATTF: In the Bundeskartellamt’s preliminary view, this may be prohibited under the special abuse control provisions for large digital companies (Section 19a(2) of the German Competition Act (GWB)) and under the general abuse control provisions of Article 102 TFEU.