A European court has ruled that Apple cannot escape its interoperability requirements, rejecting the company's effort to be relieved of obligations that force it to open its ecosystem to rival products and services.

The decision, reported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, comes out of the European Union's legal framework for policing digital gatekeepers. Apple has contested the interoperability mandates imposed on it under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU regulation that designates the largest technology platforms as "gatekeepers" and obliges them to make core features of their systems work with third-party hardware, software and services.

The interoperability duties sit at the heart of the DMA's enforcement architecture. For Apple, they translate into a duty to provide competitors with access to key iPhone functionalities — a requirement the company has resisted on grounds that include security and intellectual property concerns. The European Commission, which administers the DMA, has pressed forward with specification proceedings designed to identify exactly which features Apple must open up and on what technical terms.

The court's ruling means Apple's legal challenge to those obligations has failed, at least at this stage. The company remains bound by the interoperability requirements while litigation over their precise scope continues.

Why the ruling matters

For practitioners, the judgment reinforces a point that has been emerging across EU platform litigation: gatekeeper designations and the conduct obligations that flow from them are proving resistant to annulment actions. Clients operating designated platforms should assume that DMA duties — including interoperability mandates — remain fully operative while challenges proceed through the EU courts, and should structure compliance programmes accordingly.

The ruling also signals judicial deference, at this procedural juncture, to the Commission's regulatory approach. Businesses that depend on access to Apple's ecosystem, including accessory makers, app developers and messaging providers, gain a measure of certainty: the interoperability process continues, and requests for access will move through the Commission's specification procedure rather than being frozen by interim litigation.

For Apple, the practical consequence is continued exposure to the Commission's enforcement toolkit. Non-compliance with DMA obligations can trigger fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover, a figure that concentrates minds in any compliance department.

The broader context

The DMA, in force since 2022, marked the EU's shift from case-by-case antitrust enforcement toward ex ante regulation of the largest digital platforms. Apple was designated a gatekeeper in September 2023, bringing the App Store, iOS and other core services within the regulation's reach. Interoperability obligations under Article 6(4) of the DMA are among the most contested provisions, because they require designated firms to share technical access with competitors in ways the companies argue could compromise security and degrade user experience.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which reported on the ruling, has been a persistent advocate for robust interoperability mandates, arguing that opening closed ecosystems promotes competition and user choice.

The litigation is not necessarily over. Apple can continue to contest the scope and application of specific interoperability decisions as the Commission refines its requirements through individual specification proceedings. But the core message from the European judiciary is now clear: the interoperability obligations stand, and Apple must work within them.

Practitioners advising platform clients should monitor the Commission's forthcoming specification decisions, which will define the technical detail of Apple's access obligations and are likely to become the next battleground in this dispute.