Apple Inc. has filed an appeal over the way European Union regulators are applying the bloc’s Digital Markets Act to its services.

The Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s judicial branch, announced the development today. The appeal is not unexpected: Bloomberg reported last Friday that Apple was preparing such a complaint. The iPhone maker likely filed the legal challenge between last Friday and this past Thursday, which was the submission deadline for the document.

The Digital Markets Act, or DSA, is a piece of antitrust legislation that EU lawmakers passed last July. It focuses on regulating so-called gatekeepers, large tech firms with “platforms whose dominant online position make them hard for consumers to avoid.” The European Commission designated Apple and five other companies as gatekeepers this past September.

Certain sections of the DSA only apply to products from gatekeeper companies that are considered “core platform services.” The European Union has so far applied that designation to 22 products, including Apple Inc.’s App Store and iMessage. The iPhone maker’s newly publicized legal challenge reportedly seeks to limit the extent to which DSA will regulate the two platforms.

Ahead of the appeal’s submission, Apple was expected to argue that only certain App Store features should receive the core platform service designation. The company is reportedly also making the case that it shouldn’t be required to allow third-party app marketplaces on iOS. The appeal is said to include a “discussion” outlining its views on the way the App Store should be regulated.

Alongside the App Store, the EU has also designated iMessage as a core platform service. In its complaint, Apple reportedly argues that the messaging app should be regulated less extensively. 

The DSA includes a provision that focuses specifically on messaging apps. It specifies that “dominant messaging platforms” must allow users to send messages to rival services if those services’ developers request interoperability. Currently, iMessage doesn’t interoperate with Android messaging apps.

Even in light of its appeal, Apple will reportedly have to comply with the rules forth in the DSA starting next March. In a filing released earlier this week, the iPhone maker disclosed that it expects to change some App Store features to comply with the legislation.

A gatekeeper company that fails to meet DSA antitrust requirements can face a fine equal to up to 10% of its annual worldwide revenue. Repeated noncompliance may lead to fines double that size. Besides Apple, Meta Platforms Inc. and TikTok and have also filed complaints to change the way the DSA applies to their services. 

Photo: Andrew/Flickr