Commission finds that Apple Ads and Apple Maps should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act
06 february 2026
On February 5th, 2026, the EU Commission concluded that Apple does not qualify as a gatekeeper in relation to Apple Ads and Apple Maps, as neither of these platform services constitute an important gateway for business users to reach end users. This assessment is based on a number of considerations, including that Apple Maps has a relatively low overall usage rate in the EU, and that Apple Ads has very limited scale in the online advertising sector in the EU.
The Commission will continue to monitor market developments regarding these services, should any substantial changes arise. This decision does not affect the designation of Apple as a gatekeeper in September 2023 and April 2024 for other core platform services.
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