French regulator fines Apple $8.5 million over App Store ad targeting breach
Jan 5, 2023, 16:55 IST
France's data protection regulator has fined Apple $8.5 million for not seeking users' prior consent before filing and/or to write ad identifiers used for advertising purposes on their devices.
Following a complaint relating to the "personalisation processing of advertisements broadcast in the App Store", the French watchdog CNIL carried out several checks in 2021 and 2022 in order to verify compliance with the applicable regulations.
"The CNIL found that under the old version 14.6 of the iPhone operating system when a user went to the App Store, identifiers serving several purposes, including the purposes of personalising advertisements distributed on the App Store, were by default automatically read on the terminal without obtaining consent," the regulator said in a statement.
However, in practice, the ad targeting settings available from the iPhone's "Settings" icon were pre-checked by default.
"In addition, the user had to perform a large number of actions to successfully deactivate this parameter since this possibility was not integrated into the initialisation process of the telephone," said CNIL.
The CNIL acted under the European Union's "Privacy Directive" which allows for member state-level data protection authorities to take action over local complaints about breaches.
SEE ALSO:
Samsung Galaxy F04 launched under ₹10,000 in India: Check price, specifications and availability
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus Review - Powerful mid-ranger with a solid camera
Advertisement
Following a complaint relating to the "personalisation processing of advertisements broadcast in the App Store", the French watchdog CNIL carried out several checks in 2021 and 2022 in order to verify compliance with the applicable regulations.
"The CNIL found that under the old version 14.6 of the iPhone operating system when a user went to the App Store, identifiers serving several purposes, including the purposes of personalising advertisements distributed on the App Store, were by default automatically read on the terminal without obtaining consent," the regulator said in a statement.
Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More
However, in practice, the ad targeting settings available from the iPhone's "Settings" icon were pre-checked by default.
Advertisement
The CNIL acted under the European Union's "Privacy Directive" which allows for member state-level data protection authorities to take action over local complaints about breaches.
SEE ALSO:
Samsung Galaxy F04 launched under ₹10,000 in India: Check price, specifications and availability
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus Review - Powerful mid-ranger with a solid camera