France fines Apple €150M for “excessive” pop-ups that let users reject tracking

Actually Apple were fined because they don't apply the same standard to their own pop-ups that allow users to reject tracking. On Apple popups you seem to need one click, while on 3rd party popups you need to confirm twice.

So the fine seems to be for treating 3rd parties differently from their own stuff.

They could make their own popups require double confirmation instead...

Right, but that second click isn't coming from Apple and they can't control it. The article specifically says that many apps feel like they need additional consent which means they have to request it through two channels.

If Apple doesn't feel like they need additional consent and/or doesn't use ATT-blocked systems then they don't need that.

This is stupid.

> The article specifically says that many apps feel like they need additional consent

Are they right about that? Does Apple provide the app with confirmation that the user consented, and if they do, is it legal to rely on that confirmation?

You can definitely check on whether the user answered yes to the prompt, because if they declined you'll get a null (ie. all 0s) uuid. Whether app developers can rely on that as confirmation for tracking on their side is a purely legal question, and I wish the French government would try to resolve it on their side rather than going straight to fining Apple.

As a European Apple user I welcome any and all fines that can be levied on Apple for their anticompetitive practices.

As a European Apple user, I don’t. I specifically WANT the walled garden. It’s one of the reasons why I buy Apple.