Apple has been deemed an entity that can potentially hinder competition across digital markets, according to a new press release issued by Germany’s federal regulatory agency.

Otherwise known as the Bunderskartellamt, the agency proclaims that Apple holds “paramount significance for competition across markets”. As a result, Apple’s practices will be heavily probed for “extended abuse” under Section 19a of the German Competition Act (GWB).

Section 19a of GWB was amended into law in 2021. It allows the Bundeskartellamt to “prohibit companies which are of paramount significance for competition across markets from engaging in anti-competitive practice”.

The agency’s president, Andread Mundt, has labeled Apple as holding “a key position for competition as well as for gaining access to the ecosystem and Apple customers”. He further described the decision as allowing the agency to “specifically take action against and effectively prohibit” policies it deems monopolistic.

The agency is already probing Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework in a separate proceeding dating to June 2022. Currently, the Bunderskartellamt states that it has no further plans to examine Apple’s practices pertaining to other areas of the market.