Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been accused of holding third-party app developers to stricter standards than it applies to itself, in a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) collective action filed Thursday at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal.

UK app developers argue that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) rules are unfair because developers depend on advertising to fund free apps. According to the claim, the rule effectively puts a price on five years of consent prompts that quietly divert advertising money toward Apple. The case arrives as European regulators have already sanctioned Apple over the same policy, and a parallel UK regime now explicitly targets large digital platforms designated as holding strategic market status — a framework under which Apple was designated in 2025.

The double-consent complaint at the heart of the case

The complaint was brought by ATT Collective Action Limited, and it rests on a single core argument: Apple forced third-party developers to comply with a two-step consent rule before they could track users across other apps and websites, while Apple's own advertising and data collection activities were exempt from the same requirement.

Third-party apps were required to obtain a user's permission twice, whereas Apple's in-house services faced no such restriction. Developers who rely on advertising revenue ended up spending more to reach new users while experiencing weaker ad value. The claim follows the UK's opt-out collective proceedings regime, under which affected developers would be automatically included unless they choose to opt out — the same mechanism used in the tribunal's other Big Tech damages claims.

App Tracking Transparency was introduced in April 2021. It displays a prompt as soon as someone opens an app, asking whether advertisers can track them. If the user refuses, the developer is barred from using that person's data for ad targeting. Apple has previously said the majority of users decline the prompt, which is why developers argue the policy sharply reduced the effectiveness of third-party ad targeting on iOS.

Who is behind the claim, and what she says it is about

Ann Pope is leading the action against Apple. She is a former director for antitrust at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority — the same regulator whose tribunal will decide the case, a notable twist to the lawsuit.

Pope believes the dispute is not about privacy but about fairness. "Privacy is an important protection for consumers, but it should be applied fairly and in a way that ensures businesses of all sizes can compete on a level playing field," she said.

She added that Apple's rule "resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper."

Apple has not issued a response to the claim. The company has remained consistent in its position, saying its own apps are exempt from the tracking prompt because they do not collect the data the prompt refers to. In Apple's view, this keeps the playing field even.

Fines and orders that piled up before London

The UK filing comes amid years of regulatory pressure on Apple in Europe. Italy fined Apple €98.6 million over ATT in December 2025 and demanded changes. France fined Apple €150 million in April 2025 without demanding changes.

Germany has also moved against Apple in recent times. Its competition authority found that the ATT prompts were designed to favor Apple over competitors by producing more consent outcomes for Apple, and it demanded changes to the design.

Apple agreed to eight changes to its EU policies. Poland and Romania have also opened reviews. The London claim is the first collective damages action over ATT in the UK, meaning the tribunal's handling of it could shape how follow-on private claims over the same conduct are pursued.

Where this sits among the tribunal's Big Tech cases

The London tribunal has become well known as a venue for lawsuits against technology giants. It is currently deliberating a separate $4.1 billion iCloud claim against Apple, with a hearing set for late 2028 — a timeline that suggests the ATT case could also take considerable time.

How the claimants arrived at the $2.7 billion figure is not yet known, and there is no guarantee that Apple will be fined that exact amount. What to watch next is whether the tribunal grants a collective proceedings order allowing the case to proceed, and how any EU-mandated changes to ATT interact with the UK claim going forward.

Source: Cryptopolitan