The EU warns Apple: we are all equal in privacy

Apple must treat all apps equally when it comes to privacy, regardless of whether they are owned or not, says Margrethe Vestager, head of the European Union's antitrust committee.

Apple is introducing its App Tracking Transparency feature (App Tracking Transparency) in iOS 14. This feature will force apps to ask for permission to track user activity, allowing for personalized ads. 

Critics had already complained about this feature and now the European Union joins the conversation by recommending the implications in case of exceptions. 

According to the executive vice president of the European Union, for Apple to comply with the regulations of the digital age and competition, it must offer fair treatment when implementing the standard. 

According to Reuters, the director warns it could constitute an anti-competitive case if Apple does not apply the rules to itself. 

"Competition may need to be investigated if Apple is shown not to treat its apps the same way [after all]," Vestager said in an interview Monday. 

So far, Vestager says it has received no complaints about the upcoming changes from Apple.

The receipt of a complaint will likely come from Facebook, which is grudgingly accepting this new Apple policy, although it is notoriously complaining about using the means at its disposal, such as buying newspaper advertisements to tell its side of the story.

The great fear of Facebook is that the advertising it sells, and on which its business model is based, will lose profitability as users choose not to be (for) followed on apps and web pages.