Apple’s challenge to the EU’s designation of its App Stores and iOS platform as “gatekeepers” was rejected by Europe’s top court on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
“The Court rejects Apple’s actions regarding its designation as gatekeeper to the App Store and iOS,” declared the Luxembourg court.
Apple brought the complaint to the Luxembourg General Court in 2024 after the European Commission designated its five App Stores – on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch – as a single platform service under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a label that implies a strict set of obligations.
Designated “gatekeepers” are prohibited from favoring their own services over those of their competitors, and they are prohibited from combining personal data from different services. They should also give users the option to use alternative app stores.
Apple also challenged the EU’s designation of iOS as a gateway platform, a status that requires the operating system to allow competing services to interact with it.
The company also challenged iMessage’s classification as a number-independent interpersonal communications service, or NIICS, which would subject the app to EU telecommunications rules. But the Court declared Apple’s actions concerning the iMessage service inadmissible.
To be classified as a ‘custodian’ under the DMA, a company must meet certain criteria, including having an EU turnover of at least €7.5 billion, or a market capitalization of €75 billion or more. The designation also requires platforms or services to have more than 45 million monthly active users and more than 10,000 annually active business users within the EU.
