In today’s Digest, we discuss Apple overhauling app tracking consent rules following a German antitrust probe, France’s top court blocking an under-15 social media ban in a setback to Macron, and Alibaba offloading its gaming unit Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital in a USD$1.5bn (£1.12bn) deal.

Apple to overhaul app tracking consent rules 

Apple will revise how app developers can use personal data for targeted advertising on iPhones and iPads, Germany's Federal Cartel Office announced Monday, bringing an end to a multi-year investigation into the company's practices. Regulators found that Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework gave the company's own apps more favourable consent prompts than those offered to third-party developers, a disparity that potentially violated competition law. 

Under the agreed commitments, Apple must redesign consent pop-ups for third-party apps to strip out discouraging language and symbols, making them visually and linguistically neutral compared to Apple's own prompts.

France's court blocks under-15 social media ban

France's Constitutional Council has struck down legislation that would have prohibited children under 15 from using social media, a significant legal blow to President Emmanuel Macron and a setback for the broader global push to restrict minors' access to online platforms. The court ruled Friday that the law, passed by parliament in July and due to require age verification for social media users from 2027, amounted to a "disproportionate infringement on freedom of expression" 

Judges acknowledged that protecting children's welfare could in principle justify limiting platform access, but concluded the law as written lacked adequate legal safeguards to protect users' right to privacy. Macron, who had strongly backed the ban over child safety concerns, responded by asking Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to draft a revised version capable of taking effect by spring 2027.

Alibaba offloads Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital 

Alibaba Group Holding is selling its gaming studio Lingxi Games to Hong Kong-based private equity firm Trustar Capital, an affiliate of CITIC Capital, in a deal that could value the unit at more than USD$1.5bn (£1.12bn), according to an internal memo. Lingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu framed the sale as a way for Alibaba to redirect focus toward its core strategic priorities.

The divestment fits into a broader restructuring underway at Alibaba under CEO Eddie Wu, who has signaled the company's intent to sell off non-core businesses as it channels resources more heavily into AI and cloud computing.