Apple Escalates Legal Battle Against EU’s Digital Markets Act Regulations

Apple Challenges EU Digital Regulations in Landmark Court Case

Apple has escalated its legal confrontation with European Union regulators, mounting a significant challenge to the Digital Markets Act during hearings before the General Court in Luxembourg. According to reports, Apple’s legal team argued that the sweeping digital regulations impose what they characterize as “hugely onerous and intrusive burdens” that conflict with the company’s rights within the European marketplace.

Apple Challenges EU Digital Regulations in Landmark Court Case
Three-Pronged Legal Challenge
EU Defends Regulations as Necessary Check
Broader Context of Tech Regulation

Three-Pronged Legal Challenge

Sources indicate Apple’s lawsuit specifically targets three core aspects of the DMA. The first challenge concerns requirements that would force Apple devices, including iPhones, to maintain seamless interoperability with competing hardware. Apple reportedly contends that such mandates could potentially jeopardize user privacy, security, and intellectual property protections that the company has built into its ecosystem.

The second element of Apple’s legal challenge focuses on the European Commission’s decision to include the App Store under the DMA’s regulatory scope. This designation subsequently led to a €500 million ($581 million) fine for alleged noncompliance, which analysts suggest Apple is separately contesting through legal channels.

Finally, the technology giant is disputing an EU inquiry into whether its iMessage service should fall under the same regulatory framework. The report states that Apple maintains iMessage should be exempt because the service does not directly generate revenue, positioning it differently from other platform services covered by the legislation.

EU Defends Regulations as Necessary Check

EU lawyers have vigorously defended the Digital Markets Act as an essential measure to curb what they characterize as monopolistic control in digital marketplaces. Paul-John Loewenthal, representing the European Commission, told the court that Apple’s “absolute control” over its ecosystem enables the company to reap what he described as “supernormal profits in complimentary markets where its competitors are handicapped.”

Loewenthal further emphasized that “Only Apple has the keys to that walled garden. It decides who gets in and who can offer their products and services to iPhone users.” According to the legal representation, such control has effectively locked in more than a third of European smartphone users within Apple’s ecosystem.

Broader Context of Tech Regulation

This legal confrontation occurs against a backdrop of increasing transatlantic tensions over digital regulation, with the case reportedly highlighting growing friction between U.S. tech giants and European regulators. Sources indicate that U.S. officials, including former President Donald Trump, have criticized the DMA as disproportionately targeting American technology firms, complicating ongoing trade discussions between Washington and Brussels.

Apple’s challenge follows an earlier defeat for ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which failed to overturn its inclusion under the same legislation. The case represents the latest development in the EU’s broader crackdown on major technology firms, which has included over €9.5 billion in fines against Alphabet Inc.’s Google in recent years and an order for Apple to repay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland.

Earlier this year, the iPhone maker faced another penalty of €1.8 billion for allegedly stifling competition in the music streaming market—a case rooted in traditional antitrust laws but sharing many of the same concerns addressed by the DMA. The outcome of Apple’s current legal challenge before the General Court could establish significant precedents for how digital platforms are regulated across Europe and potentially influence global technology policy frameworks.