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Apple has failed in its attempt to challenge a ruling by a German court, which upheld a regulatory decision subjecting the company to stricter antitrust oversight.<\/p>\n
In its ruling, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice upheld the classification of the iPhone-maker as a company with significant market power.<\/p>\n
This will allow antitrust regulators greater flexibility to scrutinise its business practices.<\/p>\n
In doing so, the court supported the German cartel office’s 2023 designation of Apple as a \u201ccompany of paramount cross-market significance for competition\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe products and services that Apple offers are highly vertically integrated, closely interconnected and largely reserved for users of Apple devices,\u201d the court said, as reported by BNN Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the basis for what the company itself calls the Apple ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n The ruling places Apple alongside other tech giants such as Google parent Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta, which are also subject to potential measures to curb their dominance in Germany.<\/p>\n This decision aligns with a global trend where regulators aim to open markets to rival start-ups and offer consumers more choices, reported Reuters<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which became law in 2023, serves as a benchmark in these efforts.<\/p>\n In March 2024, the European Union (EU) initiated an investigation<\/a> into Apple, Alphabet, and Meta under the DMA legislation.<\/p>\n Recently, it was reported that Apple along with Meta Platforms could potentially face fines for breaching<\/a> the DMA.<\/p>\n The company, however, expressed disagreement with the German court’s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt [the decision] neglects the value of a business model that places the privacy and security of users at its centre,\u201d an Apple representative was quoted by Reuters<\/em> as saying.<\/p>\n The court’s decision not to consult with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, as requested by Apple’s legal team, further solidifies the ruling.<\/p>\n Apple’s App Store has been under particular scrutiny in Europe due to concerns over data collection practices.<\/p>\n Andreas Mundt, president of Germany’s national competition regulatory agency, welcomed the court’s decision.<\/p>\n Mundt, as reported by Reuters<\/em>, said: \u201cThis means that the highest court has confirmed that Apple is subject to stricter abuse control.<\/p>\n \u201cOur ongoing review of Apple’s tracking regulation for third-party apps is therefore on a solid footing, and we are working flat out on this case and other cases against the major internet companies.\u201d<\/p>\n “Apple loses German court battle \u2013 faces stricter oversight” was originally created and published by Verdict<\/a>, a GlobalData owned brand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n