France fines Apple 150 million euros for abusing dominant position

France's antitrust watchdog fined Apple 150 million euros (162.3 million U.S. dollars) on Monday for abusing its dominant position in mobile app advertising on its devices between April 2021 and July 2023 thanks to a privacy control tool.

The French Competition Authority said the way Apple implemented its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) software was neither necessary nor proportionate to the company's stated objective of protecting personal data and penalized third-party publishers.

Apple rolled out the ATT starting in April 2021 as part of an update to the operating system powering the iPhone and iPad. The feature forces apps to obtain permission before collecting data to target users with personalized ads.

According to the French regulator, multiple consent pop-ups are displayed, making the use of third-party applications in the iOS environment excessively complex. Apple treated itself and publishers differently, which was particularly harmful for small publishers.

The antitrust watchdog said whereby publishers were required to obtain double consent from users for tracking on third-party sites and applications, while Apple did not ask for consent from users of its own applications.

In addition to the fine, the French regulator has ordered Apple to publish the decision on its website for seven days.

Hong Kong's economy posted solid growth in Q1 2026, with real GDP rising 5.9 percent year on year, according to advance official estimates released on Tuesday.

This is up from the previous quarter's revised 4.0 percent growth (originally estimated at 3.8 percent) and marks the strongest quarterly expansion in nearly five years.

Private consumption expenditure rose 5 percent year on year in the first quarter.

Total exports of goods jumped 23.8 percent from January to March compared with a year earlier, accelerating from 15.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Visitor numbers for the first three months of the year rose by around 17 percent year on year to more than 14.3 million.

A government spokesperson said the outlook remains positive, supported by robust global demand for artificial intelligence-related electronics, rising visitor arrivals, and increased cross-border financial activity.