LONDON, U.K.: Apple is facing a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) lawsuit in Britain over claims that its app tracking rules unfairly imposed greater restrictions on third-party developers than on its own services.

The lawsuit, filed at London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on September 3 on behalf of app developers, accuses the iPhone maker of abusing its power through its App Tracking Transparency feature.

Apple introduced the feature in 2021 and has said it allows users to control whether apps have permission to track their activity across other companies' apps and websites.

Lawyers behind the lawsuit argue that Apple's rules imposed stricter requirements on third-party app developers than on Apple's own services, giving the company's advertising ecosystem a competitive advantage.

Ann Pope, a former senior official with Britain's Competition and Markets Authority who is leading the lawsuit, said Apple's policy "resulted in very significant harm to businesses that depend on Apple as a gatekeeper".

"This action is important to protect the rights of British businesses that depend on Apple, to ensure that the rules that Apple applies are fair, and to compensate the losses that British companies have suffered," Pope said in a statement.

Apple said its App Tracking Transparency feature was created "to give users a simple way to control whether apps have permission to track their activity", adding that it was "bound by the exact same requirements as all developers".

The feature has faced regulatory scrutiny across Europe. In Germany, Apple last month agreed to changes to rules governing how app developers can use personal data for targeted advertising.

Germany's competition authority had accused Apple of abusing its market power. Meta, along with publishers, advertisers and app developers whose business models depend on advertising tracking, had also criticized the tool.

Regulators in France, Italy, Poland and elsewhere have also investigated Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework.