PARIS, March 31 (Reuters) - Apple ( AAPL ) was hit with

a 150 million euro ($162.4 million) fine by French antitrust

regulators on Monday for abusing its dominant position in mobile

app advertising on its devices via a privacy control tool.

The fine - the first by any antitrust regulator over Apple's ( AAPL )

App Tracking Transparency tool - comes a year after the European

Union hit the company with a 1.8 billion euro antitrust fine for

thwarting rival music streaming services on its App Store.

The head of the French Competition Authority dismissed

worries that the decision would prompt retaliation from U.S.

President Donald Trump who has threatened to slap fines on EU

countries fining U.S. companies.

"We apply competition law in an apolitical manner," Benoit

Coeure told a press conference.

"But what we have heard ... is that they (U.S. authorities)

intend to apply antitrust law to the big digital platforms as

strictly as their predecessors. So in terms of antitrust, I

don't see any controversy between the United States and Europe

on how we apply the law," he said.

The ATT tool lets iPhone and iPad users decide which apps

can track their activity. Digital advertising and mobile gaming

companies complained it made it more expensive and difficult for

brands to advertise on Apple's ( AAPL ) platforms.

"While we are disappointed with today's decision, the French

Competition Authority has not required any specific changes to

ATT," Apple ( AAPL ) said in a statement.

Coeuré told reporters the regulator had not spelled out how

Apple ( AAPL ) should change its app, but that it was up to the company

to make sure it now complied with the ruling.

The compliance process could take some time, he added,

because Apple ( AAPL ) was waiting for rulings on regulators in Germany,

Italy, Poland and Romania who are also investigating the ATT

tool.

The French case, which covered the period 2021 to 2023, was

triggered by complaints from several associations for online

advertisers, publishers and internet networks accusing Apple ( AAPL ) of

abusing its market power.

"While the objective pursued by ATT is not in itself open to

criticism, the way it is implemented is neither necessary nor

proportionate to Apple's ( AAPL ) stated objective of protecting personal

data," the regulator said in a statement.

It added that the privacy tool "particularly penalized

smaller publishers," as they depend to a large extent on the

collection of third-party data to fund their businesses.

Alliance Digitale, the Syndicat des Regies Internet (SRI),

the Union des Entreprises de Conseil et d'Achat Média (Udecam)

and the Groupement des Éditeurs de Services en Ligne, which had

complained to the French watchdog, said the decision was a

significant victory for advertisers.

($1 = 0.9239 euros)