Apple accused of tracking iPhone users without consent

AnAustrian privacy activist called Max Schrems hasfiled acomplaint against Apple fortracking iPhone users without consent.

Schrems’ campaign group, noyb, said the unique tracking code generated by each iPhone, called IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers), lets Apple and all iPhone app developers see how users behave without their knowledge or agreement.

Noyb filed the complaint under the EU’s e-privacy directive, rather than the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As a result, the national data regulators could directly fine Apple without needing the co-operation of EU data protection authorities, if any unlawfulness is found.

Appledirectly rebutted the claimssaying they were "factually inaccurate and we look forward to making that clear to privacy regulators should they examine the complaint".

Noaccess

Applesaid in response that it "does not access or use the IDFA on a user's device for any purpose".

It said its aim was to protect the privacy of its users and that the latest release of its iOS 14 operating system gave users greater control over whether apps could link with third parties for the purposes of targeted advertising.

The Californian tech giant said in September it would delay plans to launch iOS 14 until early next year.

Appleaccounts for one in every four smartphones sold in Europe, according to Counterpoint Research.

Prominent figure

Schrems is a prominent figure in Europe's digital rights movement that has resisted intrusive data-gathering by Silicon Valley's tech platforms. He has fought two cases against Facebook, winning landmark judgments that forced the social network to change how it handles user data.

Noyb's complaints were brought againstApple's use of a tracking code, known as the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), that is automatically generated on every iPhone when it is set up.

The code, stored on the device, makes it possible to track a user's online behaviour and consumption preferences - vital in allowing companies to send targeted adverts.

"Appleplaces codes that are comparable to a cookie in its phones without any consent by the user. This is a clear breach of European Union privacy laws," Noyb lawyer Stefano Rossetti said.

Schrems has already won one landmark case this year when the European Court of Justice in July passed judgment on the legal protections that previously allowed European data to be relatively freely transferred to the US.

Last week, the European Data Protection Board released updated guidance on data transfers. It emphasised that data exporters had to consider risks such as intelligence services’ access to data objectively — whether they could examine information, rather than whether they were likely to.