The EU is considering including Apple Maps and Apple Ads (Apple Ads) on the "gatekeeper" list under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing stricter regulatory obligations on them, including preventing self-preferential treatment, strengthening interoperability, and providing fairer access conditions for competitors. Previously, Apple's App Store, iOS and Safari have been identified as gatekeepers, and Apple has therefore been required to support opening measures such as third-party app stores and alternative payment methods in the EU.
According to the DMA's standards, if a platform has more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU and a market value of more than 75 billion euros, it may constitute a "gatekeeper" and need to accept stricter codes of conduct. The European Commission said that preliminary data showed that Apple Maps and Apple Ads have reached the threshold that triggers the review. Regulators will have 45 working days to decide whether to formally add them to the gatekeeper list. Once the decision is made, Apple will have six months to make compliance adjustments.
Apple has submitted comments to the EU, objecting to the inclusion of the two services as gatekeepers, claiming that Apple Ads’ share of the EU online advertising market is much lower than that of major platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft and In terms of map services, Apple emphasized that the usage rate of Apple Maps in the EU is significantly lower than that of Google Maps and Waze, and it is difficult to be regarded as an indispensable "intermediary platform" between merchants and consumers.
If Apple Ads is ultimately identified as a gatekeeper, Apple may need to further open up its advertising business, such as strengthening interoperability with third-party advertising partners, or adjusting the design of rules that are currently considered by the industry to be beneficial to its own advertising products to a certain extent, thereby reducing the suspicion of self-preferential treatment. As for Apple Maps, once it is included as a gatekeeper, its system-level integration method, access to third-party services, and default status within the platform may become the focus of supervision; currently in iOS 18.4, EU users can already change the default map application and choose alternatives such as Google Maps or Waze.