Apple Faces $2.7 Billion UK Lawsuit Over ‘Unfair’ App Tracking Rules

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LONDON, September 3, 2026 — Reuters

Apple is facing a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit in London brought on behalf of app developers, who accuse the iPhone maker of abusing its market power by imposing unfairly restrictive app-tracking rules on third-party developers.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, following years of regulatory scrutiny over Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which was introduced in 2021.

Apple has said the feature was designed to give users greater control over whether apps can track their activity across other companies’ apps and websites.

However, lawyers representing the claimants argue that the system imposes stricter requirements on third-party app developers than on Apple’s own services, thereby giving the company’s advertising ecosystem a competitive advantage.

Ann Pope, a former senior official at Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority who is leading the lawsuit, said Apple’s policy had caused “very significant harm” to businesses that depend on the company as a gatekeeper.

«“This action is important to protect the rights of British businesses that depend on Apple, to ensure that the rules that Apple applies are fair, and to compensate the losses that British companies have suffered,” Pope said in a statement.»

Apple, however, rejected the allegations, saying its App Tracking Transparency framework was created to give users “a simple way to control whether apps have permission to track their activity.”

The company also said it was “bound by the exact same requirements as all developers.”

Apple’s app-tracking rules have faced increasing regulatory scrutiny across Europe. In Germany, the company agreed last month to changes to rules governing how app developers can use personal data for targeted advertising.

Germany’s competition authority had previously accused Apple of abusing its market power after Meta, publishers, advertisers and app developers criticised the tracking framework, arguing that their business models depend heavily on advertising-related tracking.

Competition authorities in France, Italy, Poland and other European countries have also examined Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework.

The latest UK lawsuit could further intensify scrutiny of Apple’s control over its digital ecosystem and the rules governing businesses that operate through its App Store.

($1 = £0.7412)

Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Alison Williams — Reuters