The European Union Commission has placed iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Following an eight-month investigation, the EU Commission concluded that iPadOS is on three key premises.
Apple is leveraging its ecosystem to disincentivize users from switching to other operating systems and devices – essentially locking users to iPadOS. A similar case is made for business users who are locked into the platform due to its “large and commercially attractive user base”.
The EU Commission also concludes that iPadOS’s business users exceed the threshold for a gatekeeper platform “by eleven times” while its commercial users are close to the threshold and expected to grow soon. The EU designates gatekeepers as platforms with over 45 million monthly active users and 10,000 annual business users in the EU.
iPadOS joins iOS as a gatekeeper platform and will have to comply with the EU’s rules which include the ability to download third-party apps outside the App Store, select third-party default browsers and uninstall preloaded apps. Apple has six months to comply with the DMA. Failure to do so will result in a 10% fine on Apple’s global revenue. Repeated violations will raise the fine to 20% of global revenues.