EU Digital Markets Act Kicks In

Six Big Tech companies must fully comply with the Digital Markets Act, the European Commission said March 7. It designated Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance "gatekeepers" under the DMA in September, subjecting them to new rules for core platform services. Now they must show they're complying with the act and how. For example, they must submit independently audited descriptions of how they're profiling consumers. Full compliance means EU businesses that depend on the six gatekeepers to reach their customers "will enjoy new opportunities," the EC said. These include fair treatment and a level playing field when they compete with gatekeepers' services on their platforms; being able to request interoperability with gatekeepers' services to offer innovative new services; and being able to sell their apps through channels other than gatekeepers' app stores. End users will also benefit, the EC said, by, among other things, not being locked into platforms' default choices for app stores and services and having more control over their data by being able to decide whether the gatekeeper can link their accounts. The EC "will not hesitate to take formal enforcement action" in cases of non-compliance, it said. The European Consumer Organisation urged the EC to enforce the measure "promptly and effectively." In February, the EC found that Apple's messaging service iMessage and Microsoft's online search engine Bing, web browser Edge and online advertising service Microsoft Advertising didn't qualify as gatekeepers. On March 1, Booking, ByteDance and X notified the EC that their services potentially meet DMA thresholds; an EC decision is due by May 13.