France views another round against Apple monopoly

Tech company Apple may be sued again in France. This time it’s his advertising tool that’s used to make money with some of his apps. Apple would not ask users ‘ permission to receive personalized ads.

A French lobby group representing start-ups and venture capitalists is said to have filed a complaint with the French regulator CNIL on Tuesday, reports Bloomberg, which has seen the complaint. The objection focuses on the Personalized Advertising feature, which displays ads in the App Store, at Apple News and the Stocks app, based on user data.

The complaint against Apple comes as the tech company prepares a software update for iPhones and iPads. That update should ensure that the amount of data collected from third-party advertising systems, such as Facebook, is limited. Unlike that feature, Apple’s personalized ad system is enabled by default.

According to the complainants, France Digitale, users are “insufficiently informed about the use and processing of their personal data”. According to the lobby group, Apple holds too much power because it can determine who is a “partner” and who is a “third party” and that this can change over time without Apple informing the user. According to Apple, the charges are “clearly false”.

A group of French advertisers previously lodged a complaint with the competition authority in France. They want to prevent Apple from making changes to the way the company collects data from iPhone users. In doing so, Apple would violate European rules.

Also, privacy activist Max Schrems previously stood up against Apple. He filed complaints with the German and Spanish Privacy Watch Dogs. This is because, in its view, Apple has unlawfully installed a service on its devices and apps that allows the tech company to track user behavior.