The EU court on Wednesday dismissed Apple’s challenge to its designation as “usher” under the block Digital Markets Act (DMA), handing the European Commission a significant victory in one of the first major judicial tests of the law.
In joined cases T-1079/23, T-1080/23 and T-214/24, the General Court rejected Apple’s challenge to the Commission September 5, 2023 Appointed as gatekeeperthereby confirming the Commission’s power to classify the App Store and the iOS operating system as core platform services subject to DMA obligations. The court also ruled that Apple’s objections to the Commission’s classification of iMessage as a core platform service were inadmissible.
A key question was whether Apple’s five App Store variants, covering versions for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV, should each be independently evaluated for usage thresholds that trigger gatekeeper status. Apple argued that only its iPhone App Store met these thresholds and that the other versions should be treated as separate services. The court rejected this argument.
“Each of the app stores was used for the same purpose, namely as an intermediary between end users and business users in the distribution of applications and digital in-app content,” the court explained, noting that the differences between each app store were due to the nature, function and use of the different devices rather than the provision of different services.
On iMessage, the court found Apple’s related lawsuits inadmissible. Although the commission initially classified Calling iMessage a “number-independent interpersonal communication service,” it decided in February 2024 not to officially call it a gatekeeper service. Since this provisional classification does not impose any DMA obligations, the Court concluded that it does not produce binding legal effects subject to legal challenge.
The DMAThe law, passed in 2022, requires companies designated as gatekeepers to comply with obligations intended to ensure fair competition in digital markets, including allowing apps to be distributed by third parties and giving users greater choice over pre-installed applications. Apple is one of seven companies currently legally designated as a gatekeeper alongside Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft and Booking.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company can only appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union within two months and ten days of the notification. Wednesday’s ruling does not resolve the question of whether Apple continues to meet its DMA obligations.
