Apple Inc. is challenging an order from the European Union requiring that it increase the compatibility of its most popular products with those of rival companies.
On May 30, Apple filed an appeal with the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg challenging the court’s March order to expand interoperability with products made by competing companies.
In a statement distributed to the media, Apple said, “At Apple, we design our technology to work seamlessly together, so it can deliver the unique experience our users love and expect from our products.”
“The EU’s interoperability requirements threaten that foundation, while creating a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation,” the statement said. “These requirements will also hand data-hungry companies sensitive information, which poses massive privacy and security risks to our EU users.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
The March order, issued by the European Commission (EC) under the authority of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), required Apple to make its mobile device operating system iOS more compatible with devices made by rival manufacturers. This would include giving software developers and device manufacturers access to iOS, as well as allowing iOS notifications to appear on rival companies’ wearable technology. Historically, those privileges have only extended to Apple’s devices.
If Apple does not comply, it could face an investigation and then a fine equaling as much as 10 percent of its global annual sales.
In 2023, the EU began enforcement of the DMA. The act passed in 2022 and is an extensive regulatory framework designed to prevent leading technology companies from using their market position to block new entrants.
As a tech leader, Apple is designated by the DMA as a “gatekeeper.” This means it controls large online platforms that act as intermediaries between businesses and users. Under the DMA, gatekeeper companies such as Apple are considered to exert oversized influence on how businesses can reach customers.
Apple’s leading rivals, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook parent Meta, and Microsoft, also share the DMA’s gatekeeper designation.
The Cupertino, California-based company has long been under fire from EU regulators. In March 2024, the European Commission opened an investigation of Apple for noncompliance with the DMA on the grounds that the Apple App Store was not giving customers sufficient freedom of choice.
In April 2025, the EC found Apple in breach of its “anti-steering obligation” under the DMA and assessed a fine of 500 million euros ($572 million).
“Under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases,” the EC said in an April 22 statement. “The commission found that Apple fails to comply with this obligation.”
While Apple has not issued any statements directly in response to the EC’s ruling and fine, the company issued a statement on May 29 detailing how the App Store facilitated more than $400 billion in developer billings and sales in 2024 in the United States.
“For more than 90 percent of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store, developers did not pay any commission to Apple,” the statement reads.
