EU Commission named Apple gatekeeper for iPadOS under digital market regulation

The European Commission designated Apple’s iPadOS tablet operating system as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on Monday (29 April).

The landmark EU Digital Markets Act addresses competition in the digital space. Companies with a dominant position in crucial segments of the internet economy, deemed gatekeepers, have to act in a way that does not hinder competition.

On 5 September 2023, the Commission named Apple a gatekeeper for its iOS operating system, its web browser Safari, and the App Store, its marketplace for apps. Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, Instagram and Facebook’s parent company Meta, and Microsoft were also named gatekeepers on that date.

After a market investigation, the Commission concluded that “despite not meeting the thresholds, iPadOS constitutes an important gateway which many companies rely on to reach their customers,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.

The gatekeepers’ threshold is not based on a single numerical figure but rather a combination of factors such as market share and impact on competition.

The tech giant must comply with DMA obligations regarding iPadOS within six months.

“Our focus will remain on delivering the very best products and services to our European customers, while mitigating the new privacy and data security risks the DMA poses for our users,” an Apple spokesperson told Euractiv, adding that they will continue to work with the Commission to comply with the law.

The Commission found that Apple’s iPadOS has a big enough user base among both regular consumers (end users) and businesses to warrant regulatory investigation under the DMA. The EU executive said the business user base surpasses the DMA’s quantitative threshold and that the number of users is nearing the threshold and is expected to increase.

Additionally, the Commission highlighted that individual and business users find it hard to switch away from iPadOS because of its ecosystem and importance for certain applications. In effect, end users are locked into iPadOS, as Apple can exploit its extensive ecosystem to discourage switching to alternative tablet operating systems. Business users are similarly bound to iPadOS due to its substantial user base and critical role in specific applications like gaming, the Commission also said.

“We continue monitoring market developments and will not hesitate to open new investigations,” said Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton.

In March, the Commission announced a €1.8 billion fine for Apple, saying the tech giant abused its dominant position for music streaming providers. Later in March, the Commission opened non-compliance investigations into Apple, Alphabet, and Meta under the DMA, focusing on steering rules.

[Edited by Eliza Gkritsi/Chris Powers]

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