Apple Inc. lost its fight at Germany’s top civil court to overturn a regulator’s decision to put it under tighter antitrust scrutiny alongside other U.S. tech giants.

The judges on Tuesday said the Federal Cartel Office was right to find that the iPhone maker’s footprint across markets meets the threshold for more oversight. It’s not necessary that the company already hampers competition but that it carries such a risk. Apple does so as it’s one of the largest, most profitable companies worldwide with access to extraordinary financial and other resources, the judges added.

“The products and services that Apple offers are highly vertically integrated, closely interconnected and largely reserved for users of Apple devices,” the court said. “This is the basis for what the company itself calls the Apple ecosystem.”

The judges also pointed to Apple’s importance for third parties’ access to markets. External app developers and other third-party companies are dependent on Apple’s support to reach the large number of its users, opening a box that the company could use for strategies the new rules seek to address, the court said.

Apple was attempting to topple a May 2023 decision by the German antitrust watchdog, which subjected it to the so-called 19a rules on the grounds that its strong position in digital markets could threaten competition.