French watchdog rejects requests to suspend Apple privacy feature

France’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday rejected a request by online advertising lobbying groups that wanted Apple to suspend a new feature that allows users to block advertisers from tracking them across different applications. The ruling marked the first antitrust decision of its kind in Europe.

It could have repercussions worldwide for the U.S. tech giant, which portrays itself as a defender of data privacy rights, but faces criticism from Facebook, app developers and startups whose business models rely on the use of advertising tracking.

Apple said – in response to the decision – that it was grateful to the French antitrust watchdog for having recognised that the ‘App Tracking Transparency’ feature was in the best interests of French customers.