Brussels Regulators have escalated a tussle between Apple, which says its products are designed in customers' best interest and the fact that its policies help make a fortune by extorting a third of their profits is just a happy coincidence.

EU regulators say the company is unfairly using its size and considerable resources to stifle competition. Apple is the first company to be charged for violating the Digital Markets Act, a law passed in 2022 that gives European regulators comprehensive authority to force the most significant "online gatekeepers" to change their business practices.

After initiating an investigation in March, EU regulators said Apple was putting unlawful restrictions on companies that make games, music services and other applications.

Under the law, also known as the DMA, Apple cannot limit how companies communicate with customers about sales and other offers and content available outside the App Store. Regulators said the company faces a penalty of 10 percent of global revenue, which could go up to 20 percent for repeat infringements. Apple reported $383 billion in revenue last year.

"Today is a significant day for the effective enforcement of the D.M.A.," said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president in charge of competition policy.

She said Apple's App Store policies make developers more dependent on the company and prevent consumers from being aware of better offers.