Apple held accountable under the DMA - A victory for developers and computer users! - FSFE
News<br>Apple held accountable under the DMA - A victory for developers and computer users!
on: 2026-07-08<br>The Court of Justice of the European Union has rejected Apple's challenge to the interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act.<br>The Court also confirmed the App Store as a core platform service. The<br>FSFE acknowledges this as a major win for computer users and<br>developers.
Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled in<br>the case Apple<br>v. European Commission (T-1080/23), in which the Free Software<br>Foundation Europe (FSFE) intervened to defend the rights of developers<br>and users under the Digital Markets Act<br>(DMA).
Apple had challenged the interoperability obligations applicable to<br>its mobile operating systems, the designation of the App Store as a core<br>platform service (CPS) and the original designation of its messaging<br>service as a number-independent interpersonal communications service.<br>The FSFE intervened to hold Apple accountable under the DMA in a<br>developer-friendly way.
With this judgment developers and users will enjoy a less restrictive<br>environment to access and be able to distribute their software in<br>environments controlled by Apple. This includes unfettered software<br>installation (sideloading) and effective and free-of-charge<br>interoperability between their software and Apple’s software and<br>hardware controlled by Apple’s operating system.<br>This ruling confirms what we have argued from the start:<br>interoperability is not optional under the DMA, it is the law.<br>Developers finally have legal certainty to build competitive<br>alternatives to Apple's ecosystem, and we remain committed to monitoring<br>enforcement of today’s decision,says Lucas Lasota, FSFE's Senior Programme Manager Legal
In its press release, the Court states that Apple’s challenge<br>against “the provision of the DMA relating to the interoperability<br>obligations imposed on undertakings which are designated as gatekeepers”<br>was inadmissible. The Court also confirmed that the different versions<br>of Apple’s App Store “constitute a single CPS”, because they share the<br>same purpose: “to connect app developers with end users in order to<br>facilitate the distribution of software applications.” For the FSFE,<br>this confirms the central role of interoperability and software<br>distribution in the DMA’s regulation of Apple’s ecosystem
The future of software interoperability
The FSFE will closely monitor of the implementation of today’s<br>decision, starting with an in depth analysis of the ruling. It will be<br>available in the upcoming days at fsfe.org.
Besides, Apple has initiated another litigation against the European<br>Commission on questions concerning the technical and procedural aspects<br>of interoperability (T-359/25). The FSFE is also<br>intervening in this second case and we will again demonstrate to the<br>court the importance of interoperability for fair digital markets.
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