Social media
(BRUSSELS) – Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance, deemed online ‘gatekeepers’ under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, must from 7 March fully comply with all obligations.
The Digital Markets Act establishes new rules for 10 defined core platform services, such as search engines, online marketplaces, app stores, online advertising and messaging, and gives new rights to European businesses and end-users.
Business users established in the EU that depend on services offered by the six gatekeepers to reach their customers will enjoy new opportunities as of today. For instance, business users will be able to:
- Benefit from fair treatment and a level playing field when in competition with gatekeeper services on their platforms.
- Request interoperability with gatekeepers’ services to offer new innovative services.
- Sell their apps through alternative channels other than the gatekeeper’s app stores.
- Access data generated by their activities on gatekeepers’ platforms.
- Promote offers and conclude contracts with customers outside the gatekeeper’s platform.
End-users will benefit from more choice and innovation in the digital space in Europe. They will be able to:
- Reclaim their power to choose and not be locked in to gatekeepers’ default choices, for example by choosing alternative app stores and services, to those offered by the gatekeepers.
- Gain better control over their data by being able to decide whether the gatekeeper can link their accounts, and thereby track and combine their personal data across different services.
- Easily obtain, transfer and use data from one service or app to another one, allowing for seamless data backups and moving between different services.
- Use alternative electronic identification or in-app payment services.
As of today, gatekeepers are required to prove effective compliance with the DMA and outline measures undertaken in compliance reports. The public version of these reports is accessible on the Commission’s dedicated DMA webpage. Gatekeepers must also submit to the Commission an independently audited description of any techniques used for profiling consumers, along with a non-confidential version of the report.
The Commission will assess whether the implemented measures in the compliance reports are effective in achieving the objectives of the DMA’s obligations. The assessment will also be based on the input of interested stakeholders, including in the context of the compliance workshops, where gatekeepers are invited to present their solutions.
The Commission says it will not hesitate to take formal enforcement action if needed. “The DMA sets precise obligations and the possibility to sanction large online platforms should they not comply,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton: “We have been in discussions with gatekeepers for months to help them adapt. And we can already see changes happening on the market: competitors can set up alternative app stores, European users have more control over their data and are now empowered to make choices they did not have before due to default settings.”
In case of an infringement, the Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, which can go up to 20% in case of repeated infringement.
