Italy’s competition regulator has initiated an investigation targeting Apple’s iCloud service, accusing the tech giant of limiting competitor access within its iOS and iPadOS ecosystems. This marks the first inquiry by the Italian authority under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new EU regulation designed to ensure fair interoperability and competition among digital service providers.
The DMA requires Apple to allow third-party cloud services to operate on equal footing with its own iCloud service, ensuring free and effective interoperability with Apple’s hardware and software components. According to the Italian watchdog, evidence suggests that rival providers do not have the same level of access to system components that iCloud controls and utilizes. This disparity could hinder competition among consumer cloud services within Apple’s tightly integrated platforms.
The competition authority will forward its findings to the European Commission, which oversees enforcement of the DMA across member states. The legislation empowers national regulators to conduct preliminary investigations into dominant digital gatekeepers and address market imbalances that may arise from closed ecosystems.
Apple’s iCloud has long been positioned as a seamless extension of its devices, offering integrated syncing, encryption, and privacy features optimized specifically for iOS and iPadOS. The company argues that its proprietary environment delivers superior user experience and security, elements that could be compromised if equal access is granted to rival cloud providers at a low system level.
While the DMA aims to foster competition by preventing so-called “gatekeepers” from abusing platform control, it also raises questions about balancing user security, innovation, and ecosystem integrity. Critics of the probe caution that forcing Apple to open its system deeply to competitors may expose vulnerabilities and degrade the performance that customers expect from the brand’s tightly controlled environment.