EU Says Apple Ads and Apple Maps Won't Face DMA Gatekeeper Rules

Apple has avoided additional regulatory scrutiny in Europe. The European Commission announced today that it will not designate Apple Ads or Apple Maps as core platform services under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This means Apple won't have to open these specific services up to the same strict interoperability and competition rules that currently govern the App Store, iOS, and Safari.



The ruling follows a notification Apple submitted on November 27, 2025. The company argued that neither service functions as a significant "gateway" for businesses to reach consumers, a key requirement for regulation under the act. After reviewing the data, the Commission agreed. Regulators concluded that Apple Maps has a relatively low usage rate in the EU compared to rivals like Google Maps. Similarly, they determined that Apple Ads has very limited scale within the European online advertising sector.


Even though the Commission says the ad business is small in Europe right now, Apple has been working to grow it. We recently saw reports that the company plans to add more ad spots to App Store search results starting in 2026. The platform contributes to a Services division that recently topped $1.3 trillion in facilitated commerce globally. However, regulators said that global scale has not translated into market dominance for advertising or mapping within the EU.

The decision does not affect Apple's existing gatekeeper designation for other core platform services. The company is still locked in a contentious back-and-forth with regulators over compliance for the App Store and iOS. Just last month, Apple publicly accused the EU of using "political delay tactics" to stall the implementation of new business terms, claiming officials were deliberately holding up changes to justify potential fines.

The regulatory environment remains a major point of friction for American tech firms operating in Europe. The tension escalated recently when the U.S. Trade Representative threatened retaliatory measures against the EU, citing discriminatory treatment of U.S. companies.

The Commission noted that it will continue to monitor the market. If Apple Maps or Apple Ads grow substantially in the future, regulators could revisit the decision. For now, however, these services remain exempt from the DMA's heaviest requirements.