App developers drag Apple to London court over app tracking rules

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been accused of holding third-party developers to stricter standards than Apple applied to itself. The accusation was made in a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) collective action filed Thursday at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.

UK app developers say Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules are unfair because developers rely on advertising to fund a free app, and this rule puts a price on five years of consent prompts that quietly diverts ad money to Apple.

The double-consent complaint that forms the crux of the case

The complaint was made by ATT Collective Action Limited, and it relies on one argument, which is the fact that Apple forced third-party developers to comply with a two-step consent rule before they could track users across other apps and websites. Meanwhile, Apple’s advertising and data collection were exempted from such a requirement.

Third-party apps were required to obtain a user’s permission twice, while Apple’s in-house services were not saddled with such a restriction. Developers who rely on ad revenue eventually spend more to reach new users while experiencing weaker ad value. 

App Tracking Transparency started in April 2021. It displays a prompt immediately someone opens an app, and asks if advertisers can track them. If the user refuses, the developer is prevented from using the person’s data for ad targeting.

Who is behind the claim, and what she says it’s about

Ann Pope is leading the charge against Apple. She is an erstwhile director for antitrust at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority; this is the same regulator whose tribunal will decide the case, a notable twist to the lawsuit.

Pope believes the fight is not about privacy but rather about fairness. “Privacy is an important protection for consumers, but it should be applied fairly and in a way that ensures businesses of all sizes can compete on a level playing field,” she said. 

She went on to add that Apple’s rule “resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper.”

Apple has not issued a response and has remained consistent in its viewpoint, as it says its own apps are exempt from the tracking prompt because they don’t collect the data the prompt refers to. 

This, in Apple’s view, makes the playing field even.

Fines and orders that piled up before London

The UK filing comes amid years of regulatory issues for Apple in Europe. Italy fined Apple €98.6 million over ATT in December 2025 while demanding changes. France fined Apple €150 million in April 2025 without demanding changes.

Germany has also moved against Apple in recent times, as its competition authority found that the ATT prompts were designed to favor Apple over competitors by producing more consent outcomes for Apple and demanded changes to the design. 

Apple agreed to eight changes to its EU policies. Poland and Romania have also started reviews.  

Where this sits among the tribunal’s Big Tech cases

The London tribunal has become famous as a venue for lawsuits against tech giants. It is currently deliberating over a separate $4.1 billion iCloud claim against Apple, with a hearing set for late 2028, a timeline that suggests the ATT case could take a while.

How the claimants arrived at the $2.7 billion figure is still not known, and it is not a guarantee that Apple will be fined that exact amount.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.