06:24 AM EDT, 03/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) was fined 150 million euros ($162.3 million) by France's antitrust authority for allegedly misusing its dominant position in the iOS and iPadOS AppStore, the authority said Monday.

The Autorite de la Concurrence said Apple's ( AAPL ) App Tracking Transparency framework, implemented between April 2021 and July 2023, created unfair hurdles for third-party apps, complicating user consent processes.

The regulator found the system harmed smaller app developers and ad providers by making third-party data collection more difficult while not applying the same limitations to Apple's ( AAPL ) own services.

While the goal of user privacy was not disputed, the authority said Apple's ( AAPL ) methods were disproportionate and lacked neutrality, resulting in economic harm to competitors.

Apple ( AAPL ) did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

The company's shares were down 0.7% in recent Monday premarket activity.

Price: 216.35, Change: -1.55, Percent Change: -0.71