Apple's EU troubles just got $160 million worse

Apple and the European Union aren't exactly on the best of terms right now, with regulators keeping a close eye on everything the tech giant does. Just last month, we told you that Apple was on the verge of facing an antitrust fine in France over its privacy controls. Well, now it is official – the hammer has dropped.

French antitrust regulators have fined Apple €150 million (around $162 million when directly converted) for allegedly abusing its dominance in mobile app advertising through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature.

If you have ever tapped "Ask App Not to Track" on your iPhone, that is what this is all about. Apple has been under scrutiny in France for nearly two years over ATT and now, the investigation has wrapped up – with Apple on the losing end. This is the first time an antitrust authority has penalized Apple over its ATT tool.

Despite concerns that the decision could trigger a backlash from the US – especially since President Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate against EU fines on American companies – the head of the French Competition Authority isn't worried.

This ruling comes after a complaint from advertising trade groups who argue that Apple's ATT feature has cut off their access to user data, making targeted ads more expensive and harder to run. ATT gives iPhone and iPad users control over which apps can track them, but digital advertisers and mobile gaming companies claim it is hurting their business.

Even though Apple apparently hasn't been ordered to make specific changes, French regulators made it clear that it is up to the company to ensure compliance. That process could take a while, though, since Apple is also waiting on decisions from regulators in Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania – who are also investigating ATT.

The ruling was expected, but it is still a bit strange, considering Europe has some of the strictest privacy laws in the world. The EU has even backed Apple's introduction of ATT in the past. So, what exactly Apple needs to do to comply remains unclear. Hopefully, this won't lead to the feature being weakened or removed for iPhone users in France – or anywhere else in Europe.