Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Deeplinks Blog

On July 8, 2026 the General Court of the European Union ruled against Apple in joint cases the company brought against the European Commission, affirming Apple’s obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The court rejected Apple’s contention that Article 6(7) of the DMA was unlawful under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and therefore could not form the legal basis for its gatekeeper designation. Apple had sought exemption from the law’s interoperability requirements and argued they would force it to lower security standards; the court did not accept those claims. The decision was supported by interventions from the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and was praised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

The court also dismissed Apple’s argument that the App Stores across iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS do not constitute a single core platform service (CPS), finding that each store intermediated between end users and business users for distribution of applications and in‑app digital content. Apple’s argument that iMessage should not be classified as a number‑independent interpersonal communication service (NIICS) constituting a CPS was declared inadmissible because that classification alone did not change Apple’s legal position in the designation decision. By ruling against Apple and in favour of the European Commission, the General Court reinforced gatekeeper obligations intended to restore fair competition under the DMA. The decision is described as a substantive win for developers, users, and researchers who may gain more options outside Apple’s “walled garden,” and the EFF urges courts to take Apple’s security concerns seriously while warning against using security as a pretext for anticompetitive behaviour.