Seven technology giants have been informed by the European Union that their antitrust regime, the Digital Markets Law (DMA), begins to apply to them.
The starting seven, most of which are US-based giants, are: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft and Samsung.
The WFD takes an approach former before for the application of antitrust rules on the main platforms that act as intermediaries between other digital companies and consumers. It does so by establishing an initial set of dos and don'ts that appointees must comply with, under the threat of significant high fines (up to 10% of global annual turnover) for non-compliance.
Examples of DMA “do's and don'ts” that apply to include a ban on first party preferences and limits on how tech giants can use third-party data, as well as a requirement to provide third parties with the data your apps generate. . Those who have an app store will also not be able to block third-party loading or require developers to use their own services (such as payment systems).
Tracking users for ads without their consent is also prohibited under the regime.
Overall, the EU expects the WFD to level the competitive playing field online by proactively eliminating the unfair/exploitative behaviors that tech giants have used for years when using their market power.
The official designation of those impacted will be announced later this summer by the Commission, which has until September 6 to do so. This means that technically still more names could be added to the list. Although the DMA is meant to target only the most powerful platforms, the list is unlikely to grow much.
Once confirmed that they are included in the regime, companies must ensure that they comply with the WFD six months after the official designations are announced, which means by spring 2024. The application and its repercussions by the Commission of any breach of the rules could happen next year.
7 companies have notified the Commission that they meet the thresholds for the #Gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Law (#DMA):
–Alphabet
- Amazon
- Apple
–ByteDance
- Goal
–Microsoft
- Samsung
Following our review process, the official designation will be announced no later than September 6.
- Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) July 4, 2023
While the DMA list currently contains no European tech giants, local travel booking giant Booking.com may end up making the cut later this year.
The platform told us that it has not yet self-reported as GateKeeper, due to the impact of COVID-19 on its business, which means it does not meet the WFD quantitative thresholds for the time period associated with the July 2023 filing deadline. It added that it is continuing discussions with the Commission about the applicability of the regulation to your business.
“We have communicated this to the European Commission,” a Booking spokeswoman said. "However, we expect that these thresholds will likely be reached by the end of this year, in which case we would expect to notify the European Commission of that fact within the required timeframes."
The DMA's sister regulation, the Digital Services Act, applies more broadly than the DMA, as the name implies, with a total of 19 platforms announced by the Commission in April as falling under the more stringent provisions of that law. regulations that aim to promote algorithmic accountability. so-called very large online platforms (VLOP) and search engines (VLOSE).
Almost all Gatekeepers of DMA have already been designated as VLOP/VLOSE under the DSA (Samsung is the only exception), which means that the five US giants 'GAFAM' plus China's ByteDance are ready to face the most stringent compliance requirements under DMA regulation. The EU.
