Apple Sumudu Mohottige Apple lost, this Wednesday (8), an appeal against European Union rules that classify its application store and the iOS operating system as gatekeepers. ?? Gatekeeper is a company that occupies such a dominant position in the digital market that it can control which applications and services reach consumers. As millions of people depend on these platforms, legislation imposes rules to prevent them from favoring their own services or making it difficult for competitors to operate. ?Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free ??Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send to g1 The European Union's Digital Markets Law created a series of rules to limit the power of large technology companies and increase competition in the digital market. Among the requirements are measures to prevent these companies from favoring their own services to the detriment of competitors.
Apple loses appeal against European Union law that limits the power of big techs
Apple Sumudu Mohottige Apple lost, this Wednesday (8), an appeal against European Union rules that classify its application store and the iOS operating system as gatekeepers. ?? Gatekeeper is a company that occupies...
Anyone who fails to comply with the rules can be fined up to 10% of global annual revenue. Since the law came into force in May 2023, Apple, Meta and ByteDance have gone to court to challenge some of the legislation's provisions. The decision by the General Court of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, reinforces the bloc's strategy of imposing limits on the power of large technology companies to increase competition and expand the options available to consumers. Apple says the law threatens privacy Apple once again criticized the Digital Markets Law. "We firmly believe that the DMA's requirements go beyond what is legal and proportionate, threatening to undermine decades of privacy and security protections we have built and leaving our users vulnerable to new risks," a company spokesperson said. "We will continue to champion the innovation and privacy our European customers deserve." The company can still appeal the decision to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial body in the bloc. The action was filed in 2024, after the European Commission classified Apple's five app stores — available on iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, Apple TVs and Apple Watches — as a single essential platform service, subject to the rules of the Digital Markets Act. The judges agreed with the European Commission's assessment. "Regardless of the device, these stores have the same function: connecting application developers with users to facilitate software distribution," they stated. Apple also challenged iOS's classification as an essential platform for companies to reach users. This framework obliges the company to allow competing products and services to work in an integrated manner with the operating system. Furthermore, the company questioned the classification of iMessage as a communication service that works without depending on a telephone number, a category that, according to Apple, could subject it to the rules of the Digital Markets Law. The court, however, stated that this classification, in itself, does not produce legal effects against the company. "In particular, none of the obligations set out in the DMA apply to iMessage, as the service was not included in the decision that defined which platforms are considered access controllers," stated the Court.
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