The Belgian Court of Appeal ruled today that the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) currently used as the foundation for most online advertising is illegal in the EU. This decision upholds the findings of the Belgian Data Protection Authority from 2022 that the technology underpinning online ads violates several principles of the General Data Protection Regulations, an EU digital privacy law that took effect in 2018.Engadget's Daniel Cooper wrote a thorough explainer of the different systems that support the current online advertising ecosystem, which is valuable reading for anybody spending time online. The very simplified version is that advertisers participate in real-time bidding (RTB) to show their content online. Currently, those bids are based on information gathered from tracking individuals' activities online with cookies. The TCF was created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau as a way to standardize how websites ask users for permission to be tracked. The original 2022 decision determined that both the consent collected by the TCF and the data collected in the RTB process were illegal under the GDPR."Today's court's decision shows that the consent system used by Google, Amazon, X, Microsoft, deceives hundreds of millions of Europeans," said Dr Johnny Ryan, director of Enforce at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, who has been leading the legal charge against the current approach to ad tech. "The tech industry has sought to hide its vast data breach behind sham consent popups. Tech companies turned the GDPR into a daily nuisance rather than a shield for people."The reaction from IAB Europe, which filed the appeal, seems to mostly be relief that it hasn't been found responsible for the data collected by TCF. "The Market Court has rejected the APD's view that IAB Europe is a joint controller together with TCF participants for their own respective processing of personal data, for instance for the purpose of digital advertising," the organization's statement says. IAB Europe notes that it has already suggested changes to the TCF that better reflect the "limited controllership" and submitted them to the Belgian Data Protection Authority. The group faced fines and was ordered to rebuild its current ad-tech framework as a result of the original decision.We've also reached out to some of the major advertisers that use the RTB technology for comment on the ruling.While this does seem like a big win for privacy advocates and internet users in the EU, it's unclear exactly what the next steps will be for advertisers and for ad tech systems. Most likely, regulators will oversee changes the IAB Europe makes to the TCF, so consent pop-ups may not yet be a thing of the past.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/appeals-court-confirms-that-tracking-based-online-advertising-is-illegal-in-europe-223714124.html?src=rss

After levying a 500 million fine against Apple in April, the European Commission (EC) says that Apple is still out of compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and has less than 30 days remaining to comply. The DMA requires that Apple allow developers to inform their customers about sales or other offers outside the App Store.In the 68-page document released today from the EC's April decision, the commission found that Apple's policies were plainly anti-competitive and said the company added unnecessary hurdles - referred to as "anti-steering" rules - to completing external transactions.One such anti-steering strategy the EC took umbrage with was Apple's "scare sheets." When users clicked to navigate to an external payment link, a message would appear, reading you're about to go to an external website. Apple is not responsible for the privacy or security of purchases made on the web." Apple could face hefty periodic penalty payments as high as five percent of daily global revenue if the company doesn't bring its policies into compliance within the EU.In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple expressed its disappointment with the newly released details, saying there is nothing in the 70-page decision released today that justifies the European Commission's targeted actions against Apple, which threaten the privacy and security of our users in Europe and force us to give away our technology for free." Later in the statement, the company called the decision "bad for innovation, bad for competition, bad for our products, and bad for users."Apple will appeal the decision before the June 22 deadline laid out in the EC's decision.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apples-app-store-rules-are-still-in-violation-of-eu-policy-161117662.html?src=rss

Apple doesn't want to fork over half a billion euros to the EU. The tech giant is officially appealing a 500 million ($587 million) fine brought by the European Commission in April, 9To5Mac reports. The Commission fined both Apple and Meta earlier this year for violating the Digital Markets Act through anti-competitive activities.In Apple's case, the Commission found that the company stopped developers from providing customers with information about sales and offers outside of the App Store. The large fine for anti-steering policies reflected the "gravity and duration" of Apple's practices. In contrast, Meta received a 200 million ($235 million) fine.Shockingly, Apple doesn't agree with its steep punishment. "Today we filed our appeal because we believe the European Commission's decision - and their unprecedented fine - go far beyond what the law requires," a statement from Apple to 9To5Mac reads. "As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users. We implemented this to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the Court."The European Commission started its investigations into Apple and Meta in March 2024. Their subsequent fines were the first levied under the DMA.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-appeals-the-eus-anti-steering-fine-120015154.html?src=rss