PARIS - France's antitrust watchdog on Wednesday rejected a request by online advertising lobbying groups that Apple suspend its App Tracking Transparency feature.

The ruling marked the first antitrust decision of its kind in Europe.

It could have repercussions worldwide for the U.S. tech giant, which portrays itself as a defender of data privacy rights but faces criticism from Facebook, app developers and startups whose business models rely on the use of advertising tracking.

  - Reuters