Apple has been losing friends in Europe for a while now. On December 2, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Dutch courts have jurisdiction to hear antitrust claims against Apple over its App Store and iOS operating system practices. In plain terms: the door is now open for collective damages cases against Apple in the Netherlands, and Apple could not get it closed.
What the court actually decided
Two Dutch foundations, Stichting App Stores Claims and Stichting Right to Consumer Justice, brought the original complaints. Both allege that Apple abused its dominant market position through restrictive terms governing how apps are distributed and how iOS and iPadOS devices interoperate with third-party software.
Apple challenged the jurisdiction of Dutch courts, essentially arguing this was not the right venue for these claims. The CJEU dismissed that argument and cleared the cases to proceed. Now Apple faces potential collective damages claims under Dutch law, which can aggregate consumer and developer grievances into a single, unified legal action.
This is not Apple’s first EU headache in 2025
