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Reviewed-on: #6001 Co-authored-by: bonnie <bonnie@fsfe.org> Co-committed-by: bonnie <bonnie@fsfe.org>
103 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
103 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<html newsdate="2026-07-08">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Apple held accountable under the DMA - A victory for developers and computer users!</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Apple held accountable under the DMA - A victory for developers and computer users!
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</h1>
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<p>The Court of Justice of the European Union has rejected Apple's challenge to the interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act.
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The Court also confirmed the App Store as a core platform service. The
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FSFE hails this as a major win for computer users and
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developers.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/1b/d9/d996b92ce2dc7513cce6b6ae939b.png"
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alt="FSFE Press Release picture"/>
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</figure>
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<p>
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Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled in
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the case <a href="/activities/apple-litigation/apple-litigation.html">Apple
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v. European Commission (T-1080/23)</a>, in which the Free Software
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Foundation Europe (FSFE) intervened to defend the rights of developers
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and users under the <a href="/activities/dma/dma.html">Digital Markets Act
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(DMA)</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Apple had challenged the interoperability obligations applicable to
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its mobile operating systems, the designation of the App Store as a core
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platform service (CPS) and the original designation of its messaging
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service as a number-independent interpersonal communications service.
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The FSFE intervened to hold Apple accountable under the DMA in a
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developer-friendly way.
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</p>
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<p>
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With this judgment developers and users will enjoy a less restrictive
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environment to access and be able to distribute their software in
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environments controlled by Apple. This includes unfettered software
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installation (sideloading) and effective and free-of-charge
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interoperability between their software and Apple’s software and
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hardware controlled by Apple’s operating system.</p>
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<div>
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<blockquote>
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<p>This ruling confirms what we have argued from the start:
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interoperability is not optional under the DMA, it is the law.
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Developers finally have legal certainty to build competitive
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alternatives to Apple's ecosystem, and we remain committed to monitoring
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enforcement of today’s decision,<cite>says Lucas Lasota, FSFE's Senior Programme Manager Legal</cite></p>
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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<p>
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In its <a href="https://curia.europa.eu/site/upload/docs/application/pdf/2026-07/cp260096en.pdf">press release</a>, the Court states that Apple’s challenge
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against “the provision of the DMA relating to the interoperability
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obligations imposed on undertakings which are designated as gatekeepers”
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was inadmissible. The Court also confirmed that the different versions
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of Apple’s App Store “constitute a single CPS”, because they share the
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same purpose: “to connect app developers with end users in order to
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facilitate the distribution of software applications.” For the FSFE,
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this confirms the central role of interoperability and software
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distribution in the DMA’s regulation of Apple’s ecosystem
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</p>
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<h3>The future of software interoperability</h3>
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<p>
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The FSFE will closely monitor of the implementation of today’s
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decision, starting with an in depth analysis of the ruling. It will be
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available in the upcoming days at <a href="/">fsfe.org</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Besides, Apple has initiated another litigation against the European
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Commission on questions concerning the technical and procedural aspects
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of interoperability (T-359/25). The <a href="/news/2026/news-20260519-01.html"> FSFE is also
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intervening in this second case</a> and we will again demonstrate to the
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court the importance of interoperability for fair digital markets.
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</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="press">Press Release</tag>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="highlights">highlights</tag>
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</tags>
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<discussion href="https://mastodon.social/deck/@fsfe/116883589127113242"/>
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<image url="https://pics.fsfe.org/uploads/medium/1b/d9/d996b92ce2dc7513cce6b6ae939b.png" alt="FSFE Press Release picture"/>
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<translator/>
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</html>
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