[Apple Faces $2.7 Billion Class Action Lawsuit: Accused of Unfair App Tracking Rules Favoring Its Own Advertising Ecosystem] BlockBeats News, September 3 – Apple is facing a class action lawsuit in London, with claims amounting to £2 billion (approximately $2.7 billion). The lawsuit was filed today with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and initiated on behalf of app developers by Ann Pope, a former senior official at the UK Competition and Markets Authority. The core allegation is that Apple’s 2021 introduction of the 'App Tracking Transparency' (ATT) feature imposes stricter restrictions on third-party developers compared to its own services, thereby granting Apple’s advertising ecosystem an unfair competitive advantage. Ann Pope stated that Apple’s policies have caused "very significant harm to businesses that rely on Apple as a gatekeeper." Since its launch, the ATT feature has been a focal point of global regulatory scrutiny for years. Apple’s official stance is that the feature is designed to give users control over whether apps can track their activities across other companies and websites. However, the plaintiffs argue that the implementation of this rule involves double standards—third-party apps must go through strict pop-up authorization for tracking requests, while Apple’s own personalized ads and services can bypass equivalent restrictions. This lawsuit represents the latest legal challenge Apple faces regarding its ATT policy and marks the first large-scale private antitrust lawsuit in the UK market targeting Apple’s app ecosystem rules, following regulatory reviews in the EU, the US, and other countries. [Original Link]