Overview
- Apple told the EU General Court that the DMA imposes "hugely onerous and intrusive burdens" that conflict with protections for security, privacy, and property rights.
- The challenge targets interoperability rules for iPhone hardware, the App Store’s designation under the law, and the Commission’s decision to examine whether iMessage should have been covered.
- Commission lawyer Paul-John Loewenthal argued Apple exercises "absolute control" over the iPhone, enabling supernormal profits and locking in more than a third of European smartphone users.
- Regulators have already fined Apple €500 million for DMA anti-steering violations and previously issued a €1.8 billion antitrust penalty, both of which Apple is contesting in separate cases.
- Judges have not ruled, and the outcome could force technical opening of the iPhone, changes to App Store rules, or future DMA oversight of iMessage.