Luxembourg-based General Court has dismissed Apple’s challenge to a 2023 decision by the European Commission that designated the company as ‘gatekeeper’ under its Digital Markets Act.

In 2023, the regional regulator determined gatekeeper status with respect to eight service categories provided by Apple and five other Big Tech firms (Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft).

Apple had objected its five App Stores on iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, Apple TVs and Apple Watches being designated as a single core platform service under the Digital Markets Act.

“Irrespective of the devices in question, those stores have the same purpose, namely to connect ​app developers with end ​users in order to facilitate ⁠the distribution of software applications,” the Court said.

Service categories under which Apple’s gatekeeper status was determined in 2023 were:

• Intermediation (App Store)
• Browsers (Safari)
• Operating systems (iOS)

“The General Court dismisses Apple’s actions regarding its ​designation as a gatekeeper in relation to the App Store and iOS,” the Court concluded.

Apple can appeal the decision.