EU court in Luxembourg upholds Apple's 'gatekeeper' status

The European Union's General Court on 8 July dismissed Apple's challenge to its designation as a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act, upholding at the bloc's Luxembourg-based judiciary the far-reaching obligations that Brussels imposes on the App Store and the iOS operating system.

In a judgment handed down in Luxembourg in Joined Cases T-1079/23, T-1080/23 and T-214/24, the court rejected all of the actions Apple had brought against the European Commission and confirmed that the iPhone maker must keep complying with the law's rules for the two services. Separate complaints over the classification of the iMessage messaging service were ruled inadmissible.

The ruling is a landmark test of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Regulation 2022/1925, the EU's flagship attempt to force open digital markets that has applied since May 2023. Adjudicated by the Luxembourg-based General Court, it strengthens the Commission's hand against the small group of companies it has branded gatekeepers and sets a marker for how every large platform must operate across the single market.

One App Store, one gatekeeper

The Commission designated Apple a gatekeeper on 5 September 2023 in relation to the App Store, the iOS operating system and the Safari web browser. Gatekeeper status can be conferred on large digital firms whose "core platform services" act as an indispensable intermediary between businesses and end users, and it brings a set of obligations meant to ensure fair competition.

Apple had argued that its five separate stores — the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS and tvOS App Stores — were distinct services, and that only the iOS App Store met the thresholds for designation. The court rejected that reasoning, confirming the Commission's view that the different versions constitute a single core platform service.

Irrespective of the devices in question, those stores have the same purpose, namely to connect app developers with end users in order to facilitate the distribution of software applications.

The differences Apple invoked, the court found, related chiefly to the characteristics of the devices used and did not justify splitting the App Store into several services. It also ruled inadmissible Apple's attempt to attack the DMA's interoperability provision, holding that the rule was neither the legal basis of the designation nor directly connected to it.

The rules Apple must keep following

With the designation confirmed, Apple remains bound by the DMA obligations that have reshaped the iPhone in Europe over the past two years. According to the Commission's framework and the court filings, the gatekeeper rules require Apple to:

• allow alternative app stores and the sideloading of apps outside its own store;
• let developers steer users to payment options and offers outside the App Store, free of charge;
• improve interoperability between iOS and third-party hardware and services;
• refrain from favouring its own products and services over rivals'; and
• refrain from combining users' personal data across its services without consent.

Apple has fought those obligations at every turn, warning that they weaken the security and privacy of its ecosystem. In a statement after the ruling, the company signalled it would press on.

"We firmly believe the DMA's mandate goes beyond what is lawful and proportionate, threatening to erode decades of privacy and security protections we've built and leaving our users vulnerable to new risks," an Apple spokesperson said. "We will continue advocating for the innovation and privacy our European customers deserve."

iMessage left outside the net

The one area where Apple avoided a clear defeat was iMessage. Alongside the 2023 designation, the Commission classified the service as a number-independent interpersonal communications service and opened a market investigation into whether it should be regulated. On 12 February 2024, it decided not to designate Apple a gatekeeper for iMessage, while keeping the underlying classification on the books.

The court found Apple's challenges to that classification inadmissible, reasoning that the label alone did not change the company's legal position. "None of the obligations laid down by the DMA applies to iMessage since that service has not been listed in a designation decision as an important gateway," the judges noted, dismissing the linked actions over the opening and closing of the investigation.

A verdict from Luxembourg, with room to appeal

The decision does not end Apple's options. Under the court's rules, an appeal limited to points of law may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union — the bloc's highest court, also seated in Luxembourg — within two months and ten days of notification. Apple did not immediately say whether it would take that step.

The judgment lands as the Commission tightens enforcement of the DMA, which allows fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover, rising to 20% for repeat breaches. In April 2025, Brussels fined Apple 500 million euros for breaching the law's anti-steering rules by restricting developers from pointing users to cheaper offers outside the App Store; Apple appealed that penalty. Meta and ByteDance have mounted their own challenges to the regime since it took effect.

For now, the message from Luxembourg is unambiguous: the gatekeeper label stands, and the obligations that come with it apply in full.