Case C-47/25, Apple Distribution International: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen, afdeling Antwerpen (Belgium) lodged on 24 January 2025 – LS v Apple Distribution International Ltd
Date: 2025-01-24
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer protection, dissemination of information, electronic commerce, game of chance, information society, information storage, provision of services, service, software








C_202502359EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/2359


28.4.2025






Request for a preliminary ruling from the Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen, afdeling Antwerpen (Belgium) lodged on 24 January 2025 – LS v Apple Distribution International Ltd


(Case C-47/25, Apple Distribution International)

(C/2025/2359)
Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen, afdeling Antwerpen

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: LS

Defendant: Apple Distribution International Ltd

Questions referred







1.








a.


Does Section 4 of Chapter II (Articles 12-15) of the Directive on electronic commerce (2000/31) (1) apply to gambling activities, even though Article 1 [5](d), third indent, expressly provides that that directive is not to apply to information society services consisting of gambling activities which involve wagering a stake with monetary value in games of chance, including lotteries and betting transactions?










b.


If so, must that concept of ‘gambling activities’ be interpreted in accordance with national law, or is it an autonomous concept of EU law (and, in that case, what are the relevant application criteria, and does the presence of certain elements in an app that satisfy those criteria mean that the entire app must thereby be regarded as a gambling activity)?














2.


Is software offered for sale on an online platform such as the one at issue (the App Store) covered by the concept of ‘information’ within the meaning of those Articles 12-15 (and, therefore, is this sale covered by the concept of ‘storage of information provided by a recipient of the service’ in Article 14, now Article 6 of the Digital Services Act 2022/2065) (2)?
If so,






a.


in order to determine whether the service provider has behaved as a diligent economic operator and yet is not aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent [within the meaning of Article 14(1)(a), now Article 6(1)(a)], can account be taken of information relating to a category of content (here, loot boxes) which, hypothetically, is illegal in its entirety, or must the information reaching the service provider relate to well-defined, individual content?










b.


does the process of approval of apps offered in the App Store imply that the recipient buys those apps under the control of the service provider, within the meaning of Article 14(2) (now Article 6(2) [of the Digital Services Act])?










(1)  Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (‘Directive on electronic commerce’) (OJ 2000 L 178, p. 1).

(2)  Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ 2022 L 277, p. 1).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2359/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)