European Union: European Commission issued decision not to designate Apple Ads and Apple Maps under Digital Markets Act

On 5 February 2026, the European Commission issued its decision not to designate online advertising service Apple Ads and its online intermediation service Apple Maps under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission's investigation into the possible designation followed Apple's notification, submitted on 27 November 2025, that the services met the DMA's user thresholds. The Commission examined Apple's arguments why the notified services should not qualify as important gateways between business users and end users, and concluded that Apple did not quality as a gatekeeper in relation to those services, since they do not constitute important gateways. The Commission's assessment was based on a number of considerations, including the overall usage rate of Apple Maps and the scale of Apple Ads in the online advertising sector in the EU. The ruling does not affect Apple’s designation as a gatekeeper for other core platform services issued in September 2023 and April 2024.