Apple ordered to stop scaring iPhone and iPad users away from third-party apps

苹果被勒令停止诱导 iPhone 和 iPad 用户拒绝第三方应用

Apple’s changing its rules for data collection consent prompts after Germany’s Federal Cartel Office accused Apple of giving the prompts a design that favored its own apps. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompts reportedly cost social media apps nearly $10 billion when they launched with iOS 14.5, making cross-app tracking of users largely opt-in. But as a designated “gatekeeper” under the EU’s DMA rules, it is facing additional scrutiny over whether the program provides a level playing field.

在德国联邦卡特尔局（Federal Cartel Office）指责苹果公司的数据收集同意弹窗设计偏袒自家应用后，苹果正在修改其相关规则。据报道，苹果在 iOS 14.5 中推出的“应用跟踪透明度”（App Tracking Transparency）功能，使得跨应用用户跟踪基本转为“选择加入”模式，这让社交媒体应用损失了近 100 亿美元。但作为欧盟《数字市场法案》（DMA）下指定的“看门人”，苹果正面临额外的审查，以评估该计划是否提供了公平的竞争环境。

The regulator says the prompts steer users away from agreeing to let third-party apps use their data, while encouraging them to give consent for Apple’s apps.

监管机构表示，这些弹窗引导用户拒绝第三方应用使用其数据，同时却鼓励用户同意苹果自家应用的数据使用请求。

In its preliminary assessment, the Bundeskartellamt considered that the current design of the [App Tracking Transparency] prompt steers users towards refusing consent, whereas the design of the [Personalized Ads] prompt steers them towards giving their consent to the use of their data for advertising purposes. Factors that contribute to this steering effect include the symbols used (for example, a warning hand symbol), different wordings (“app tracking” versus “personalised advertising”), partially ambiguous descriptions of how the data will be used, differences in the space available to explain the advantages of allowing data use, and the order in which the selection options are displayed.

在初步评估中，德国联邦卡特尔局认为，目前的“应用跟踪透明度”弹窗设计引导用户拒绝授权，而“个性化广告”弹窗的设计则引导用户同意将其数据用于广告目的。导致这种引导效果的因素包括所使用的符号（例如警告手势图标）、不同的措辞（“应用跟踪”与“个性化广告”）、对数据用途描述的模糊性、解释允许数据使用优势的空间差异，以及选项显示的顺序。

Apple now has four months to update the design and language of the consent pop-ups. The proposed changes would remove discouraging language and symbols from third-party app pop-ups, like a warning hand icon, and give them a more neutral design similar to the pop-ups for Apple’s apps. Third-party app developers would also be able to combine or link Apple’s required pop-ups with other data collection consent prompts.

苹果现在有四个月的时间来更新这些同意弹窗的设计和措辞。拟议的修改将删除第三方应用弹窗中具有劝退性质的语言和符号（如警告手势图标），并采用与苹果自家应用弹窗类似的中性设计。第三方应用开发者也将能够把苹果要求的弹窗与其他数据收集同意提示进行合并或关联。

According to Reuters, the changes “would apply in almost all European Union countries.”

据路透社报道，这些变更“将适用于几乎所有欧盟国家”。