Apple Loses EU Fight Over App Store Gatekeeper Label

Apple's challenge against the EU's designation of its App Stores and iOS platform as "gatekeepers" was dismissed by Europe's top court on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

"The General Court dismisses Apple's actions regarding its designation as a gatekeeper in relation to the App Store and iOS," the Luxembourg-based tribunal said.

Apple took its case to Luxembourg's General Court in 2024 after the European Commission designated its five App Stores – on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch – as a single core platform service under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a label that brings with it a set of strict obligations.

Designated "gatekeepers" are prohibited from favoring their own services over those of rivals, and are prevented from combining personal data across different services. They also have to 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 allows rival services to interoperate with it.

The company also disputed the classification of iMessage as a number-independent interpersonal communications service, or NIICS, which would subject the app to EU telecoms rules. But the General Court said Apple's actions regarding the iMessage service are inadmissible.

To be classified as a "gatekeeper" under the DMA, a company must fulfill certain criteria, including having sales across the EU of at least €7.5 billion, or a market capitalization of €75 billion or above. The designation also requires platforms or services to have more than 45 million monthly active users and over 10,000 active business users annually within the EU.