In mid-March, the French competition watchdog reached an unusual decision in its investigation of a new Apple privacy feature. The tool, which stops advertisers from tracking iPhone users across apps without their consent, had been challenged by developers, entrepreneurs and Apple’s long-time nemesis, Facebook, who jointly called for its suspension.
The investigators who led the review also pushed for the feature to be suspended. Their preference was to pause the roll-out while they determined if Apple was using the tool to favour its own services, in what they described as a potential act of “privacy washing”. But having consulted with her colleagues at the French privacy regulator, the watchdog’s director, Isabelle de Silva, concluded the feature complied with the EU’s data laws. Although the probe continues, de Silva said she had no choice but to defy her investigators’ wishes.
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