BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Monday designated Apple's ( AAPL ) operating system for iPads as a gatekeeper under the bloc's landmark tech rules subject to strict obligations aimed at ensuring a level playing field for rivals and more choices for users.

The European Commission said its investigation found that iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users and that Apple ( AAPL ) enjoys an entrenched and durable position with respect to iPadOS.

"Apple ( AAPL ) has now six months to ensure full compliance with the DMA (Digital Markets Act) obligations as applied to iPadOS," the EU executive which acts as the competition enforcer in the European Union said in a statement.