Italy Fines Apple $115 Mln for Market Dominance Abuse

Apple has been fined more than $115.69 million (€98.6 million) by Italy’s competition watchdog for abusing its dominant position in the European app economy, a decision the US tech giant says it will challenge.

Italy’s antitrust authority, the Italian Competition Authority, announced on Monday that Apple violated competition rules in the market for app developers, citing the company’s overwhelming control through its App Store.

In a statement, the regulator said Apple holds an “absolute dominant position” in the app distribution market and imposed excessively restrictive conditions related to user privacy in a way that distorted competition. According to the authority, these conditions were imposed unilaterally, harmed Apple’s commercial partners and were disproportionate to the stated goal of protecting user privacy.

The ruling adds to mounting regulatory pressure on major technology firms operating in Europe, where competition authorities have intensified scrutiny of digital platforms accused of leveraging market power to the detriment of rivals and developers.

Apple responded by strongly rejecting the findings and confirmed it plans to appeal the decision. In a statement, the company said its privacy rules apply equally to all developers, including Apple itself, and argued that they are supported by customers as well as privacy advocates and data protection authorities worldwide.

The case underscores ongoing tensions between European regulators and Big Tech companies over competition, market dominance and the balance between privacy protections and fair access for developers in digital marketplaces.