Apple launched its most extensive legal challenge yet against the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), telling the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg that the new law unlawfully forces changes to the iPhone, the App Store, and iMessage. The outcome will decide how much control Apple keeps over its ecosystem in Europe.
Apple’s main arguments
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s lawyer Daniel Beard said the DMA “imposes hugely onerous and intrusive burdens” that clash with EU protections for security, privacy, and property rights. Apple told the court the law compels technical changes that could weaken “user security safeguards,” expose intellectual property, and reduce privacy controls central to iOS.
Apple became the first U.S. company to mount a full-scale legal defense after ByteDance’s TikTok lost a similar case earlier. The European Commission designated Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, ByteDance, and Booking as gatekeepers, but Apple is now leading the pushback against the bloc’s new digital rulebook.
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The three challenges Apple raised
First, Apple disputes the interoperability rules that require the iPhone to work with rival hardware such as earbuds and smartwatches. The company argued that connecting with “unknown or unvetted” devices risks user safety and privacy.
Second, Apple challenges the inclusion of the App Store under the DMA. Regulators fined Apple €500 million for breaching anti-steering rules and had earlier issued a €1.8 billion penalty over similar concerns involving music streaming apps. Apple claims the App Store does not qualify as “a single unified service” under the DMA and should be excluded from the law’s scope.
Third, Apple objects to the European Commission’s decision to investigate whether iMessage should fall under the law. The Commission later decided the service did not need to comply with full DMA rules because it generates no direct revenue. Apple says even starting that probe was a legal overreach.
The Commission’s counterargument
Commission lawyer Paul-John Loewenthal told judges that Apple’s “absolute control” over the iPhone lets it earn “supernormal profits in complimentary markets where its competitors are handicapped.” He said, “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.” He added that Apple has “locked in more than a third of European smartphone users.”
What happens next
The case marks Apple’s first attempt to limit the DMA’s reach before the law is fully applied across its ecosystem. A final ruling will determine whether EU regulators can compel Apple to open technical layers of the iPhone, rewrite App Store rules, or apply DMA oversight to iMessage. Whatever the decision, it will shape how your iPhone operates in Europe for years to come.
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