The European Commission has designated this Monday the Apple iPadOS tablet operating system as “gatekeeper” to basic services of the new Digital Markets Law, so it must be subject to the strictest rules to avoid abusive practices that limit competition. of smaller technology companies. The Commission’s Competition spokesperson, Lea Zuber, recalled this Monday that Brussels already designated, in September 2023, Apple as “guardian” in relation to its iOS operating system, its Safari browser and its Appstore on the same day that A market investigation was opened to evaluate whether iPadOS, despite not meeting the quantitative thresholds of the Digital Markets Act, should nevertheless also be designated as a “gatekeeper.” “Our research examined several elements and concluded that iPadOS is, indeed, an important gateway,” the spokesperson said at a press conference, as it is an important portal for professional users to reach end users. Specifically, the Commission’s investigation has concluded that the number of Apple business users exceeded the quantitative threshold eleven times, while the number of end users was close to the threshold and is expected to increase in the near future. Additionally, he notes that Apple leverages its large ecosystem to discourage end users from switching to other tablet operating systems and that enterprise users are “locked” to iPadOS due to its large and commercially attractive user base, and its importance to certain use cases, such as gaming applications. Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the obligations of the Digital Markets Act.
