French Data Watchdog Launches Initial Probe Against Apple's Ad Feature: Bloomberg

France’s data-protection watchdog, CNIL (The Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés), initiated an investigation on Apple Inc AAPL for alleged violation of the European Union (EU) privacy rules by its personalized advertising feature, Bloomberg reports.

• CNIL was examining allegations from France Digitale, a lobbying group representing startups and venture capital firms.
• Apple’s personalized advertising feature displayed ads in the App Store, Apple News, and the Stocks app based on users’ data. However, the feature failed to seek permission before sending targeted ads as per the allegations.
• The complaint came amid Apple’s release of an iPhone and iPad software update that limited data third-party advertising systems, like Facebook Inc FB, from gathering user information. France Digitale alleged insufficient user information regarding the use and processing of their data. Apple refuted the allegations.
• The investigation might be ultimately dismissed, following requests to Apple regarding system adjustments or get pushed into a detailed investigation with CNIL sanction impositions.
• The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation allowed data regulators to charge fines up to 4% of a company’s annual sales in effect since May 2018. The EU’s e-privacy rules monitored the companies’ use of cookies and other tracking devices.
• The French antitrust ruling with insinuations for Apple’s planned iOS 14 update is expected by March 17.
• Price action: AAPL shares traded higher by 2.14% at $126.64 on the last check Tuesday.