Apple lost a major round Wednesday in its fight with Brussels over Europe’s new tech rulebook. The EU General Court rejected the company’s bid to escape “gatekeeper” status under the Digital Markets Act for both iOS and the App Store, solidly backing the European Commission in one of the first big legal tests of the law. Judges also declined to hear Apple’s challenge related to iMessage, saying it wasn’t admissible, and dismissed the company’s claim that DMA interoperability rules violated its fundamental rights—without weighing in on the substance of that complaint. The court further ruled that Apple’s five App Stores, from iPhone to Apple TV, count as one service because they all link developers with users, Politico Europe reports.
Apple, which has lodged five DMA-related challenges and is one of the most aggressive gatekeepers in court, said it still thinks the law overreaches and threatens its privacy and security model, but wouldn’t say if the company will appeal. Two key cases remain: an order to further open up iOS to rivals and a separate appeal of a $570 million fine. The ruling follows a partial win for Meta and a loss for TikTok owner ByteDance under the same regime. “The refusal to entertain Apple’s arguments against the DMA’s interoperability obligations means that these arguments will come back in another case,” said an expert at the University of Montreal, per Courthouse News Service.
