Privacy and antitrust continue to collide.  This time it is in connection with a complaint filed by four French online advertising industry groups (IAB France, MMAF, SRI and UDECAM) against Apple. In 2020, the groups alleged that Apple's privacy feature known as App Tracking Transparency (ATT) violated antitrust laws.  Under ATT, Apple requires developers to obtain consent from iPhone users prior to collecting identifiers that will be used for "tracking" purposes.  This feature is widely reported to have led to revenue declines as opt-in rates are predictably low. The industry groups argue that while developers are required to get opt-in consent, Apple does not put the same restrictions on itself. 

The French Competition Authority issued a statement of objection against Apple this week in connection with the complaint, stating its concern that Apple might "abuse its dominant position by implementing discriminatory, non-objective and non-transparent conditions for the use of user data for advertising purposes." The statement triggers an antitrust procedure, and Apple will have an opportunity to present its position.  

This is one of many instances in which actions concerning data use and privacy have formed the basis of a potential anti-trust complaint. In the U.S. and the EU, the companies that have been the focus of privacy concerns due to their large-scale data collection activities are also starting to address concerns that access to data is not only a privacy violation, but an abuse of their dominant position. 

As we wait to see where this heads, large companies would be well advised to not only think about documenting their privacy compliance but to also be prepared to demonstrate how and why their data assets don't present a competition concern.