The European Union has ruled that Apple Maps and Apple Ads do not meet the “gatekeeper” status under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), giving Apple a major regulatory win in the EU, Reuters is reporting.
This decision means that these two services will not be forced to undergo the same radical changes that have recently impacted iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the region. For Apple, this is a rare moment of relief from a regulatory body that has spent the last few years aggressively dismantling the company’s walled garden in Europe.
The investigation into Apple Maps and Apple Ads began in late 2025 after Apple notified the Commission that these services met the basic user thresholds for potential regulation. Under the DMA, a service is typically considered a gatekeeper if it has over 45 million monthly active users and acts as a vital bridge between businesses and consumers.
However, after a thorough review of Apple’s arguments, the Commission concluded that neither service holds enough market power to be considered a bottleneck. Regulators noted that Apple Maps has a relatively low usage rate compared to Google Maps and Waze. Similarly, the Commission found that Apple’s advertising business has a very limited scale within the European ad market, which is currently dominated by the likes of Meta and Google.
Apple was quick to praise the ruling. In a statement released shortly after the announcement, the company said it was pleased that the Commission recognized the high level of competition these services face.
“These services face significant competition in Europe, and we are pleased the Commission recognized they do not meet the criteria for designation under the Digital Markets Act,” a company spokesperson stated. Apple also reaffirmed its commitment to privacy and security, which has been a central point of contention in its previous battles with European regulators.
For users, this means Apple Maps in Europe will likely stay exactly as it is for now. There will be no immediate requirement for Apple to allow third-party mapping data to be integrated more deeply or to provide competitors with more data from the app.
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