Can Apple Keep Its Walls Up?

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The Laboratory

Can Apple’s walled garden survive EU regulations?

If you had the choice, would you prefer to live inside a walled garden that meets most of your needs or explore the wider world knowing there might be risks?

While this may sound like the beginning of some deep existential conversation, the question here is closer to us now than we may like. In today’s tech landscape, smartphones have enabled companies to build interconnected gadgets that work seamlessly together.

However, for companies like Apple, this has meant creating a walled garden. Inside the garden, the iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and the Mac all work together seamlessly. But when one looks outside the garden, it becomes difficult to justify the walls, as they can keep out improvements.

Now, however, Apple’s ecosystem is facing challenges not just from rivals, but also from regulators who want the walled garden transformed into a public square.

EU’s plan to open Apple’s ecosystem

The most serious challenge to Apple’s ecosystem has come from the European Commission, which has handed down several high-profile decisions under traditional laws and under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), clamping down on vertically integrated platforms. Unfortunately for Apple, it has been on the receiving end of this regulatory barrage.

The challenge has come in the form of legislation, fines, and directives requiring the iPhone maker to make changes to both its hardware and software, making it more accessible and open for competitors.

The flagbearers of this barrage came in March 2024, when the Commission fined Apple €1.8 billion for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the market for distributing streaming-music apps to iPhone and iPad users.

In April 2025, the EU again fined Apple 500 million euros ($570 million) for its App Store’s “anti-steering” policies that put restrictions on developers pointing to external purchases. These policies, the Commission ruled, violated provisions under the DMA. Apple was given three months to pay the fine and comply with the EU laws.

The European Union has demanded that Apple make several iOS-exclusive features interoperable with third-party devices and applications. These features include access to iOS notifications, background app functionality, SharePlay, audio-switching capabilities, AirDrop, and AirPlay. Apple is expected to implement these changes by the end of 2025 to avoid further sanctions.

How is Apple fighting back?

Apple’s response to the European Union has been a combination of legal challenges and partial compliance measures. The company has on several occasions also voiced concerns over user privacy and innovation.

Recently, Apple filed a legal challenge against the European Commission's directive mandating it to open its ecosystem to competitors like Meta and Google.

Apple contends that the interoperability requirements are "unreasonable, costly, and stifle innovation." The company also raised concerns about user privacy and security, arguing that sharing sensitive data with other companies could endanger EU users.

Apple believes the directives unfairly target it exclusively, potentially harming the user experience in Europe. Despite the legal opposition, Apple is required to comply with the EU's requirements during the litigation process, which is expected to take years.

In other instances, the company has chosen to align with the DMA, introducing features like allowing alternative app stores on iOS devices and enabling third-party payment options.

However, developers and regulators have criticized these measures as insufficient. The European Commission has expressed dissatisfaction with Apple's approach, particularly regarding the fee structures and complex installation processes for alternative app stores, suggesting that these measures undermine the intent of the DMA to foster fair competition.

What’s behind Apple’s resistance?

One of the key factors in Apple’s opposition to the EU’s DMA stems from the company’s strategy that helped it become one of the world’s most valuable organizations. The strategy includes maintaining a closed ecosystem where it controls hardware, software, and services, offering a seamless user experience. This model fosters brand loyalty through integration, revenue via hardware sales, App Store commissions, and services. The strategy has also helped Apple pitch data privacy and security as a unique selling point.

According to Apple, demands under the DMA are unreasonable and hamper innovation. The company further shared that the EU’s interoperability requirements create "a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation."

Apple has also hit out against provisions that force it to allow rivals and app developers to interoperate with its own services or risk a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover. The iPhone-maker hit out at Meta’s numerous requests to access its software tools, saying it could impact users' privacy and security.

How are other gatekeepers responding?

Apple is not the only tech giant under scrutiny by the European Commission. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) names six gatekeepers: Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance (TikTok). Each faces its own set of obligations aimed at curbing monopolistic behavior and ensuring fairer digital competition. But Apple’s position is unique because of how tightly it controls both hardware and software.

Google (Alphabet) has been told to stop favoring its own services in search results and to ensure that Android users can easily switch default apps like search engines or browsers. It’s also been challenged over its advertising stack dominance. Meanwhile, Amazon has been asked to allow fairer access to third-party sellers on its marketplace and stop using sellers’ data to promote its own products.

Meta has been asked to make messaging services like WhatsApp and Messenger interoperable with rivals, which has raised concerns about encryption and user privacy. Microsoft also faces obligations around bundling and default settings, particularly concerning Bing and Teams.

The EU has also asked ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to be more transparent in its ad targeting and algorithmic recommendations.

What does Apple’s future look like?

As of now, the EU seems to be standing firm on ensuring that provisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are upheld in letter and in spirit. This could spell further trouble for Apple as it works to open up its ecosystem in a way that satisfies regulators while trying to preserve its core brand values around security and user experience.

This could mean smoother integration of third-party app stores, interoperability with rival services, and more transparent App Store policies.

Alternatively, Apple may continue its strategy of minimal compliance combined with prolonged legal battles. If courts side with Apple, it could embolden the company to push back harder, potentially slowing down broader regulatory momentum in the EU and elsewhere.

The broader tech industry is watching closely. If the EU’s actions succeed in breaking down Apple’s walled garden, it may set a global precedent for how dominant platforms are regulated. U.S. lawmakers and regulators in other regions could follow suit.

For users, the next few years may bring a shift in how iPhones function, with greater choice but more complexity. For Apple, the challenge lies in balancing openness with the premium, curated experience that made its ecosystem so successful in the first place.

Thursday Trivia

3 Things Worth Trying

• AltStore: The sneaky app store Apple won’t invite you to. Jailbreak not required, just freedom.

• Riffusion: Type a mood or phrase—Riffusion turns it into original music, instantly.

• Gamma AI: Turn simple notes into beautiful slide decks in seconds.

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