Apple hit with £2bn UK lawsuit over app tracking rules
UK developers say Apple's ‘double consent’ tracking rule never applied to Apple itself
Apple is facing a £2 billion collective action at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal, filed Thursday on behalf of thousands of UK app developers over its App Tracking Transparency framework.
The entire centre is on a sole allegation claiming that Apple made third-party developers seek users’ permission to track them twice but never had the same policy when it came to its own applications.
ATT was rolled out on April 26, 2021, as a privacy initiative where external applications needed to gain the consent for protection of user data as well as another consent from Apple designed to track users through applications of other companies.
No such restriction ever existed for Apple’s own advertising and data collection.
The action is led by ATT Collective Action Limited, whose director, Ann Pope, previously served as senior director for antitrust at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.
She argues the policy "resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper" and says developers relying on ad revenue absorbed both reduced ad value and higher costs of acquiring new users.
Pope framed the case as a fairness question rather than an attack on privacy protections themselves: "It cannot become a reason for digital platforms to play by one set of rules while forcing app developers to play by another."
The UK’s claim comes after many years of regulatory actions in other places. Fines from France and Italy have exceeded £200 million due to ATT. The competition authority of Germany forced Apple to make many changes to its policy only in August 2026. Poland and Romania have also initiated their investigations.
Apple has previously described ATT as delivering "important privacy protections" but had not issued a public response to the new UK claim at the time of filing.
