EU Says Apple iPadOS Must Comply With Digital Markets Act

The European Commission has designated Apple's iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). This means that Apple now has six months to ensure compliance with DMA obligations.

The Commission determined that Apple was a gatekeeper with respect to iOS on September 5, 2023. On the same day, it opened an investigation to assess whether iPadOS should be classified as a gatekeeper, despite not meeting the quantitative thresholds.

Its investigation found that Apple presents the features of a gatekeeper in relation to iPadOS, as among others:

● Apple's business user numbers exceeded the quantitative threshold elevenfold, while its end user numbers were close to the threshold and are predicted to rise in the near future.

● End users are locked-in to iPadOS. Apple leverages its large ecosystem to disincentivise end users from switching to other operating systems for tablets.

● Business users are locked-in to iPadOS because of ...