Apple's App Store Rules Breach EU Tech Rules, EU Regulators Say 

16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo, taken at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo, taken at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
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Apple's App Store Rules Breach EU Tech Rules, EU Regulators Say 

16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo, taken at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
16 September 2023, US, New York: The Apple logo, taken at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)

Apple's App Store rules breach EU tech rules known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday.

The European Commission, which also acts as the EU antitrust and technology regulator, said it had sent its preliminary findings to Apple following an investigation launched in March.

The EU executive said it was also opening an investigation into the iPhone maker over its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores.

It singled out Apple's three business terms.

"None of these business terms allow developers to freely steer their customers. For example, developers cannot provide pricing information within the app or communicate in any other way with their customers to promote offers available on alternative distribution channels," the EU watchdog said.



Mozilla Hit with Privacy Complaint Over Firefox User Tracking

FILE PHOTO: The Firefox logo is seen at a Mozilla stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Firefox logo is seen at a Mozilla stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
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Mozilla Hit with Privacy Complaint Over Firefox User Tracking

FILE PHOTO: The Firefox logo is seen at a Mozilla stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Firefox logo is seen at a Mozilla stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo

Vienna-based advocacy group NOYB on Wednesday said it has filed a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority against Mozilla accusing the Firefox browser maker of tracking user behavior on websites without consent.
NOYB (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, said Mozilla has enabled a so-called “privacy preserving attribution” feature that turned the browser into a tracking tool for websites without directly telling its users, Reuters reported.
Mozilla had defended the feature, saying it wanted to help websites understand how their ads perform without collecting data about individual people. By offering what it called a non-invasive alternative to cross-site tracking, it hoped to significantly reduce collecting individual information.
While this may be less invasive than unlimited tracking, it still interferes with user rights under the EU’s privacy laws, NOYB said, adding that Firefox has turned on the feature by default.
“It’s a shame that an organization like Mozilla believes that users are too dumb to say yes or no,” said Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at NOYB. “Users should be able to make a choice and the feature should have been turned off by default.”
Open-source Firefox was once a top browser choice among users due to its privacy features but now lags market leader Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Edge with a low single-digit market share.
NOYB wants Mozilla to inform users about its data processing activities, switch to an opt-in system and delete all unlawfully processed data of millions of affected users.
NOYB, which in June filed a complaint against Alphabet for allegedly tracking users of its Chrome browser, had also filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies, some leading to big fines.