EU court upholds Apple and Meta gatekeeper status under DMA

This ruling establishes a critical precedent: service function outweighs hardware form. By grouping multiple device-specific stores into a single service, the court prevents streaming and app providers from being siloed by hardware-based regulatory loopholes. For the video ecosystem, this ensures unified compliance requirements for distribution through Apple and Meta platforms. The dismissal of iMessage and Marketplace challenges signals that while the Commission has broad discretion, its designations must rely on current, service-specific data to survive judicial review. Watch for the Court of Justice of the EU's final decision on ByteDance’s appeal, which will set the definitive standard for challenging gatekeeper status.

The General Court rulings come amid a significant expansion of the EU’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In April 2025, the European Commission issued its first set of non-compliance fines, penalizing Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for alleged violations, per Goodwin Law (June 2025). The Commission specifically targeted Apple’s 'steering' rules in the App Store, which restricted developers from informing users of cheaper subscription options outside the platform—a move that directly impacts high-margin streaming services. Meta’s fine was linked to its 'pay or consent' advertising model, which regulators argued failed to provide users with a truly neutral choice for data processing.

Simultaneously, the regulatory environment for digital gatekeepers is fragmenting across the English Channel. The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) came into force on January 1, 2025, granting the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) powers to designate firms with Strategic Market Status (SMS), per Taylor Wessing (January 2026). Unlike the EU's fixed list of obligations, the UK regime allows the CMA to impose tailored conduct requirements. The UK regulator has already launched SMS investigations into Apple and Google, with initial findings expected by late 2025.

Further complicating the B2B landscape is the European Commission’s ongoing focus on emerging infrastructure. During its first tri-annual review of the DMA in early 2026, the Commission identified cloud computing and AI as primary sectors for future scrutiny, according to Pinsent Masons (July 2026). As streaming platforms increasingly rely on AI-driven personalization and specialized cloud storage, these infrastructure providers may soon face the same interoperability and data-sharing mandates currently applied to social messaging and app marketplaces.