Another Apple service for the Union. Brussels looks at Maps and advertisements

It appears that the EU's regulatory offensive against Apple may shortly become stronger.

According to the requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the American giant officially informed the European Commission that 2 more of its services – Apple Maps and Apple Ads advertising platform – exceeded the threshold of 45 million active users in Europe. This is the limit, after which the company can be regarded as a alleged gatekeeper, which involves a number of restrictive obligations.

However, the situation is interesting due to the fact that Apple, although reporting figures, at the same time questions the appropriateness of imposing fresh regulations on these services. A company with Cupertino argues that the specified fact of having a large user base does not mean a monopolistic position.

In the case of Map Apple, the company stresses that its marketplace share is ‘very limited’ compared to giants specified as Google Maps or Waze. A akin line of defence was adopted for advertising business, pointing to a "minimum share" in a cake shared by Google, Meta or TikTok.

The European Commission now has 45 days to analyse Apple's arguments and decide. We can anticipate a verdict in early 2026. If officials consider Maps and advertising to be key services, Apple will receive six months to adapt them to DMA's strict requirements.

Although it is hard present to find precisely what changes an iPhone maker would gotta make in the Maps themselves, the past of iOS and App store shows that the Union can force fundamental changes in the ecosystem that all users in the Old Continent feel.

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