EU court rejects Apple's challenge to Digital Markets Act gatekeeper designation

Apple has suffered a legal setback in its fight against the European Union's landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA), after the bloc's second-highest court dismissed the company's challenge to its designation as a "gatekeeper" for the App Store and iOS, as per a Reuters report.In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, the Luxembourg-based General Court upheld the European Commission's decision to classify Apple's App Store ecosystem and iPhone operating system under the DMA, a designation that subjects the company to a range of obligations aimed at promoting competition in digital markets.The court said Apple's appeals against its gatekeeper designation for the App Store and iOS were dismissed. It also ruled that the company's action concerning its messaging platform iMessage was inadmissible.Apple had challenged the European Commission's decision after the regulator designated its App Stores across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch as a single core platform service under the DMA. The company argued that the classification imposed extensive regulatory obligations on its ecosystem.The iPhone maker also opposed the Commission's decision to designate iOS as a key gateway through which businesses reach consumers. Under the DMA, gatekeepers are required to make their platforms more interoperable, allowing competing services and developers greater access to their ecosystems.Apple had separately sought to contest the classification of iMessage under EU rules governing number-independent interpersonal communication services. However, the General Court ruled that challenge could not proceed.The Digital Markets Act, which came into force to curb the market power of the world's largest technology companies, introduces a series of obligations for designated gatekeepers. These include measures intended to make digital platforms more open, improve consumer choice and create a more level playing field for rival developers and service providers.Also read: US cyber agency deploys Anthropic AI to hunt vulnerabilities in government code