Regulation enforcement against Apple in the EU may be about to intensify. Under the Digital Markets Act rules, the company must notify the EU commission about services that reach the thresholds for so-called gatekeeper status, targeting big tech services with more than 45 million active users in Europe.
As it is obliged, Apple informed the EU that Apple Maps and Apple Ads meet that level. The commission now has 45 days to decide whether Maps and the company’s ad businesses are sufficiently monopolistic to warrant a step up in regulation.
iOS, iPadOS and the App Store already fall under the Digital Markets Act’s gatekeeper rules. That has seen Apple force to support features like alternative payment methods and third-party apps stores in the EU.
Via Reuters, Apple is contesting the gatekeeper designation for Apple Maps and Apple Ads. Apple’s position seems to be that while these services have a lot of users, they face tough competition and do not represent a large percentage of marketshare.
The company claims Apple Maps has “very limited usage” in the EU compared to Google Maps and Waze. Apple Ads also has “minimal share” compared to the ads businesses of Google, Meta, TikTok and others.
The EU will make its determination in 45 days, which essentially means sometime in early 2026. If designated as a gatekeeper, Apple will then have six months to update Maps and Ads to be in compliance with the stricter competition rules.
It’s currently unclear exactly how Maps’ features or offerings would need to be changed.
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