EU court dismisses Apple core-service challenge
An EU court has dismissed Apple’s challenge to a European Commission decision to designate it as a ‘gatekeeper’ in relation to some of its services.
The 2023 designation covered the App Store, the operating system iOS, and the web browser Safari.
Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), large digital companies that provide core services face specific obligations when they are designated as gatekeepers.
Apple challenged the designation, as well as the commission’s decision to designate iMessaging as a core service and open an investigation into whether it could also be designated as a gatekeeper – the EU body ultimately decided against designation.
Inadmissible
The EU’s lower General Court today (8 July) dismissed all actions brought by Apple.
The judges ruled that Apple’s argument that some of the obligations imposed on gatekeepers were illegal was inadmissible.
“It holds that that provision constitutes neither the legal basis of the designation decision nor a rule having a direct legal connection with that decision,” the judgment stated.
Core platform service
The court also confirmed the commission’s assessment that the different versions of the App Store constituted a single core platform service.
The judges also rejected as inadmissible the commission’s classification of iMessaging as a core platform service.
“Classification does not, by itself, produce binding legal effects that bring about a change in Apple’s legal position,” the court said, noting that its non-designation meant that none of the DMA obligations applied to the service.