Watchdog ponders why Apple doesn't apply its strict app tracking rules to itself Apple is feeling the heat over its acclaimed iPhone privacy policy after a German regulator's review of iOS tracking consent alleged that the tech giant exempted itself from the rules it enforces on third-party developers. In a preliminary legal assessment of Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework (ATTF), Germany's …
I read this article with despair. The fact that apple doesn’t follow its own rules was pointed out many years ago.
…and here we are YEARS later with some regulatory body thinking about maybe possibly perhaps sending apple an oh-so polite “pretty-please can you possibly enlighten us? When you have a moment; we don’t want to cause you any bother” letter to ask then what they’re up to?
“The wheels of government turn slowly” doesn’t come anywhere close to describing this
"Almost all large tech companies are complete privacy-raping bastards these days."
Don't worry, it's all going to stop forthwith, according to J D Vance. "Europe" is strangling democracy, free speech and privacy and "there's a new sheriff in town" whose going to change all that.
If google had their way, you would receive ads aimed at you as you drove down the highway from all the billboards and signs that are connected to the internet.
Then there is MS and all that 'phone home' telemetry in W11
Three wrongs don't make a right but IMHO, there are worse offenders out there regarding privacy and tracking than Apple.
While that may be the case (or not, this is not directly measurable so has to go down as subjective) complaining that Company A is not the worst should not allow them to skip any punishment. Sometimes it is simpler to hit the more obvious infractions and allow the fear of a real punishment to spread to the companies who thought they were too big to be held accountable.
> billboards
That is US only. Come to Europe. Especially Germany. No billboards, 'cause they are a distraction and endanger traffic and life. You'll see occasional "don't text and drive" signs though, or "That was Svens last message" with a picture of an accident. And if you want to look outside of your car without those phone and power lines constantly swishing by, you will enjoy driving in central Europe double. Triple in Germany, 'cause all 'muricans who drove here say "They all obey the rules so strict and drive so good, I feel safe here", though I, being native, apply a different sensibility regarding that :D.
I think I saw them, but on TV and not within Germany. Must be an "Germany is over-regulated" thing to prevent that from happening here, 'cause it could be a "non intended usage of land". Like the denying Agri-Solar since it is a double use. (I say: let the farmers do what they want, they know which plants benefit from a daily extra shadow since it is getting hotter and hotter)
I'm not sure there are worse offenders (at least on a profits basis) than Apple's app store graft
Google? They only started charging devs less than Apple after Apple got into the spotlight. And if you want to see true graft, go write a book and see how much of the title price you actually receive from the like of Amazon and other publishers, even if you publish digitally.
Yea, fair. Quick google (oops, conflict of interest noted) says Google make about 50% more revenue than Apple from their app store, but that's from 3 times as many devices, so it feels like Apple are taking the piss a little bit more.
I don't like Amazon's margins either but they do ply their trade in more of a marketplace of sorts, just one which has a very powerful network effect. You are free to go to other publishers, or free to set up your own online store and avoid giving them their 15% tax(*). You just have to put more effort into marketing. It's a bit the same but a bit different, and a real challenge for competition regulators. Facebook, X, etc benefit from network effect too but it's easier to see that working against them in a myspace-type scenario than with Amazon and Google which have such a colossal capital investment in physical assets and fingers in so many pies. They need breaking up, but it's hard to see either US or international commitment to that any time soon.
(*) Hey Mr Trump, shouldn't that count as a tariff, like VAT?
Indeed. I'm surprised this story hasn't been covered by El Reg, but I suppose the editorial staff have other topics they'd rather write about.
Here's an overview. Hey, it's not too bad - it's only showing pop-up ads when the owner of the vehicle has stopped in traffic for any reason (cue Philip J Fry clip about "ads on TV, milk cartons, T-shirts... but never in our dreams, no sirree...").
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