WARSAW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Poland's anti-monopoly office

UOKiK is investigating whether Apple ( AAPL ) is restricting

competition in the mobile advertising market through its privacy

policy, it said on Tuesday.

The regulator suspects that the tech giant's App Tracking

Transparency (ATT) framework, introduced in iOS 14.5 and later

versions, could limit third-party apps' ability to collect user

data for personalised ads while favouring Apple's ( AAPL ) own

advertising service.

"We suspect that the ATT policy may have misled users about

the level of privacy protection while simultaneously increasing

Apple's ( AAPL ) competitive advantage over independent publishers,"

UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny was quoted as saying in a

statement.

"Such practices may constitute an abuse of dominant

position."

If confirmed, Apple ( AAPL ) could face a fine of up to 10% of its

annual turnover in Poland. The company did not immediately

respond to an emailed request for comment.

Antitrust authorities in Germany, Italy, and Romania are

also investigating Apple's ( AAPL ) ATT policies, UOKiK said, adding that

in March, a French authority imposed a fine of 150 million euros

($172.86 million) on the company.

($1 = 0.8678 euros)