Apple hit with $162 million French antitrust fine over privacy tool

I call bullshit on this one. France takes issue with Apple implementing App Tracking Transparency because it hurts advertisers? What exactly does France think following the law looks like? Allowing advertisers to track you by default? What Apple has done with ATT isn't all that different from what the EU has required every damn website on the internet to do... ask permission to track.

More damning, in the ruling the court did not outline any specific way the software should change. This honestly just seems like a money grab on the part of France.

What principles is France and the EU after? Because this ruling makes it seem like it has no principles aside from "find any reason to issue a fine because the defendant is a big American company."

I tend to agree with tightening regulations on tech, but there should at least be clear rules that can be followed, not arbitrary rules defined after the fact, if they're defined at all.

It added that the privacy tool "particularly penalized smaller publishers," as they depend to a large extent on the collection of third-party data to fund their businesses.

If your business depends on collecting the private data of users to sell to other companies, then you don’t deserve to exist as a business. I don’t care if these are the “little guys”, the entire ad business is a parasitical industry.

You want to brag about civil rights? Here in America some guy filibustered for a long time. Well it wasn't a filibuster, more of a really long speech. But he really showed the fascists he could talk for a really long time. Take that France.

That’s just one of the dumbest reasons to sue Apple…

I find it pathetic. If politicians wanted to stop these violation they could. If I have a restaurant in town and the antitrust penalties is, by law, a maximum of 10% of my profits... considering a court ruling takes some 5-7 years that is an actual some 2% fine. What incentive is that from me to get rid of all my competition in town!? I would not stop my illegal practices even if fines where 10 times that!!