Italy’s competition authority has opened an investigation into Apple’s cloud-service practices, in a case that tests how national regulators can apply the EU’s Digital Markets Act alongside Brussels.
Italy’s competition authority has opened an investigation into Apple over whether rival consumer cloud services are given fair access to the company’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems, marking the regulator’s first probe under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
The investigation, announced by the Italian Competition Authority, concerns Apple Inc, Apple Distribution International Ltd and Apple Italia S.r.l. It focuses on the interoperability duties imposed on Apple’s designated operating systems under Article 6(7) of the Digital Markets Act, which requires gatekeepers to provide third parties with free and effective interoperability with relevant hardware and software features.
The case concerns a specific but commercially important part of Apple’s ecosystem: consumer cloud services. Under the DMA, Apple must ensure that third-party cloud providers can interoperate effectively with iOS and iPadOS and obtain access under equal conditions to the same hardware and software features available to Apple’s own iCloud service.
The Italian authority said it had evidence suggesting that rival cloud providers may not be able to operate under the same conditions as iCloud. According to the regulator, third-party services appear not to have the same access to hardware and software features used by, or made available to, Apple’s own service. The authority will send its findings to the European Commission, which remains the sole enforcer of the DMA.
That division of responsibility gives the case wider importance. The DMA is formally enforced by the European Commission, but national competition authorities can conduct preliminary investigations and provide evidence. Italy’s probe therefore tests how national regulators may contribute to the EU’s effort to police large digital platforms without replacing Brussels as the final decision-maker.
The issue is not limited to cloud storage. It goes to the structure of mobile ecosystems and the extent to which Apple must open technical interfaces that allow competing services to work on equal terms. Cloud backup, device synchronisation, file access, data portability and integration with operating-system functions can all influence whether consumers use Apple’s own service or a competing provider.
For rival cloud companies, the question is whether they can offer a genuinely comparable service inside Apple’s mobile environment. If iCloud can rely on deeper integration with device settings, system prompts, backup tools or data-management features, alternative providers may face a structural disadvantage even where consumers are legally free to choose them.
For Apple, interoperability obligations raise different questions. The company has consistently argued in broader DMA debates that opening access to parts of its ecosystem can create privacy, security and user-experience risks. European regulators have rejected the argument that those concerns justify broad exemptions from the law, although the DMA allows gatekeepers to apply technical measures where they are necessary and proportionate.
The Italian case comes after the European Commission issued wider guidance on interoperability for Apple devices earlier this year. That guidance required Apple to release solutions allowing developers and connected-device providers to access certain iOS features, including notifications, proximity pairing and parts of audio switching. The Commission presented those measures as necessary to give European users more choice and allow third-party services to compete more effectively.
Apple’s relationship with the DMA has already been contentious. In April 2025, the company was fined €500 million under the regulation, while Meta was fined €200 million. Apple has also clashed with EU regulators over the rollout of its artificial-intelligence features, after the company delayed the introduction of upgraded Siri functions in the EU and blamed regulatory uncertainty. EU officials rejected Apple’s request for an 18-month exemption from its DMA obligations.
The cloud probe adds another layer to that dispute. Unlike app-store commissions or browser choice screens, cloud interoperability touches the everyday functioning of devices. The more consumers rely on smartphones and tablets for documents, photos, messages, backups and identity services, the more important cloud integration becomes.
The case also shows that the DMA is moving beyond Brussels-level headline enforcement. National regulators are beginning to test the law in specific markets where platform control may be less visible to consumers but highly relevant to competition. Italy’s authority has been active in digital and consumer cases, including earlier proceedings against Apple and other technology companies, and the new probe gives it a formal role in shaping evidence for Commission enforcement.
For Brussels, the investigation may help answer a practical question: whether the DMA can change the technical architecture of dominant platforms, rather than merely impose fines after disputes arise. The regulation was designed to make digital markets more contestable by setting obligations in advance for large gatekeepers. That model depends on regulators being able to identify whether technical compliance produces real competitive access.
The outcome of the Italian probe will not itself decide whether Apple has breached the DMA. The Commission will have to assess the evidence and determine whether further action is warranted. But the case matters because it shows where future enforcement pressure may come from: not only from the Commission in Brussels, but also from national regulators examining how gatekeeper platforms operate in practice.
For consumers, the immediate issue is choice. For cloud providers, it is access to the technical conditions needed to compete. For Apple, it is another test of how far the EU will require it to open the iPhone and iPad ecosystem to rival services. The Italian investigation suggests that cloud interoperability may become one of the next front lines in Europe’s digital competition policy.
