The European Commission’s decision to exempt Apple Maps and Apple Ads from the restrictive Digital Markets Act (DMA) framework is a rare but significant victory for the Cupertino giant in its clash with EU bureaucracy. While Apple as a corporation remains under strict scrutiny, these particular services have escaped the ‘access gatekeeper’ label, which effectively means not having to open up their ecosystems to external competition.
Brussels acknowledged Apple’s argument, pointing to the relatively low market shares of both platforms in Europe. In a world dominated by Google Maps and the powerful ad networks of Meta or Google, Apple’s offering is not a critical ‘gateway’ connecting business to the end customer. For business strategists, this signals the EU’s ability to remain flexible and not impose flat-rate regulation on every Big Tech service.
This ruling allows Apple to retain full control over the user experience within the navigation and internal advertising of the App Store. At the same time, it underscores the Commission’s pragmatism: regulation is intended to strike where monopoly stifles innovation, not where the giant is still struggling to establish itself as a contender.
