Apple loses legal fight over its App Store 'gatekeeper' status in Europe

Published 8 July 2026 · tech

Apple has lost its court challenge against EU rules that designated it as a "gatekeeper," according to a press release from the European court of

Apple has lost its court challenge against EU rules that designated it as a "gatekeeper," according to a press release from the European court of justice. The decision means that Apple must continue to allow rivals to interoperate with its five app stores, as required by the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The court also ruled that Apple's challenges over an investigation of its iMessage service were "inadmissible." Apple was fighting against the DMA on three fronts. The first was its requirement that rival hardware (like earbuds and smartwatches) work with the iPhone, which Apple claimed was a security risk.

The company also objected to its designation as a "gatekeeper" under the DMA with its iOS, macOS, watchOS, iPadOS and tvOS app stores. Finally, Apple challenged the EU Commission's probe into whether iMessage should have been deemed a covered service, despite an earlier decision that mostly let that service off the hook. As mentioned, the EU court slapped away the latter challenge, so the status quo stands there: Apple won't need to make it work with other messaging services as before. However, the court upheld the EU's decision ruling that all five stores should be treated as a single core platform service under the DMA.

It also maintained that Apple must continue to allow rivals open access to its stores and not favor its own services to those of competitors. Apple disagreed with the decision but didn't say yet if it would appeal. "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 in a statement to multiple outlets. "We will continue advocating for the innovation and privacy our European customers deserve." Apple has railed against the DMA over the past years, recently blaming its rules for delaying indefinitely the launch of its Siri AI assistant in the EU.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and European technology chief Henna Virkkunen recently held a call that an EU Commission spokesperson described as "constructive," however. Apple still has two cases pending with EU courts. The first is a challenge to the EU Commission's decision last year forcing Apple to open iOS to third-party developers, and the second is an appeal against the €500 million fine imposed in April last year for anti-steering violations.