In compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Apple has released figures for the monthly active users of its various App Store versions in Europe.
The information, published on Apple’s legal resources site, shows that the iOS App Store has a significant user base of 101 million, while the iPadOS App Store follows with 23 million users. The macOS App Store has six million users, and the tvOS App Store has a user base of one million.
Additionally, Apple provided estimated figures for other platforms, including the watchOS App Store, Apple Books, and Podcasts paid subscriptions, each having less than one million monthly users in Europe.
Under the DSA regulations, platforms with over 45 million users are classified as very large online platforms (VLOPs) and must adhere to stricter regulations. These platforms are required to share key data with researchers to gain insights into the evolution of online risks. The EU recently confirmed a list of 19 platforms, including the Apple App Store, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Amazon, which will be subject to the strictest DSA regulations. These companies are required to be proactive in analyzing and reporting risks associated with artificial intelligence and algorithms.
Apple had stated in February that only its iOS App Store qualified as a VLOP, but did not disclose the number of active monthly users at the time. The company also expressed its intention to voluntarily align all existing App Store versions, including those not currently meeting the VLOP designation threshold, with the DSA requirements. Apple aims to protect consumers from illegal content, aligning with the goals of the DSA.
A 2022 report from Corporate Europe Observatory and Global Witness, based on obtained lobbying documents, revealed that tech giants such as Apple, Meta, Google, and Amazon had significantly increased their EU lobbying expenditures following the proposal of the DSA and Digital Markets Act (DMA) in December 2020. Apple was notably active in opposing measures that could undermine its control over the App Store or its mobile operating system. The company spent €3.5 million (around $3.8 million) on EU lobbying in 2020 and a further €6.5 million (around $7.1 million) in 2021, surpassing other tech firms.
