The entry into force of the new ones rules of the Digital Markets Act marks a turning point in the technology sector, with the introduction of stringent rules for large digital platforms. This legislation aims to combat the abuse of dominant position, promote competition and offer greater opportunities to small market operators. The European Commissioner Thierry breton makes it clear: the deemed platforms gatekeeper they will have to fulfill specific obligations or face severe sanctions.
Digital Markets Act rules: impact on Big Tech
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) represents a radical turning point for the digital ecosystem, imposing precise rules on Big Tech to to prevent behavior anticompetitive. These new regulations aim to create a more level playing field, allowing even smaller players to emerge and compete on a more solid basis.
Focus on Big Tech and the EU challenge: the legislation primarily targets giant tech companies like A, Amazon, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, Meta, Microsoft e ByteDance, Owner of TikTok. For example, a major is required interoperability between messaging services such as WhatsApp and Messenger with their smaller counterparts. However, enforcement of these rules promises to be a major challenge, with the EU still struggling to enforce pre-existing regulations such as the GDPR, as demonstrated by the fine of 1.2 billion euros imposed on Meta for privacy violations.
Expectations for change: the Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, emphasizes the need for a change in Big Tech's behavior, indicating that the legislation aims to put an end to the long and sometimes fruitless legal battles against anti-competitive practices. The DMA requires companies to notify any acquisition and to ensure fair access to their services by limiting practices such as imposing default browser or mapping services.
Sanctions and limited resources: with sanctions that can reach up to 20% of global turnover in the event of a repeat offender, the DMA aims to enforce its rules with a firm hand. However, the EU admits that limited resources may force it to select which cases to prosecute. This raises concerns about the EU's ability to ensure effective enforcement of the new rules.
DMA definitions and rules: the Digital Markets Act clearly defines which platforms fall into the "gatekeeper" category, based on criteria such as annual turnover, number of users and presence in multiple member states. The rules require these platforms to ensure the interoperability of messaging services, offer a fair access to smartphone features for developers and allow sellers to access their marketing data. Furthermore, the European Commission must be informed about mergers and acquisitions to prevent so-called “killer acquisitions”.
Furthermore, gatekeepers must ensure users' right to cancel your subscription to the services of the main platform and the interoperability of the basic functionality of instant messaging services. Finally, it is also prohibited to pre-install certain software applications on devices.
