All obligations under the Digital Markets Act have come into force

Brussels – The full entry into force of all obligations to be met by gatekeeper platforms under EU Digital Markets Act has begun. Starting today (March 6), the six platforms that have the ability to control the digital marketplace under the criteria of the Digital Markets Act must comply with the standards “for each of their designated core platform services.” For the first time globally, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft will be held liable for violations of consumer rights in the digital space if they fail to meet the standards set by European lawmakers.

The conclusion of the application process comes six months after they were officially designated as gatekeepers by the European Commission on September 6, 2023 (at the end of a 45-day scrutiny period): six platforms with an annual turnover of at least 7.5 billion euros in the EU in the last three years, a market valuation of more than 75 billion euros, at least 45 million monthly end-users, and 10 thousand business users in the EU. Other criteria include control of one or more core platform services in at least three EU member countries. The EU Commission designated 22 core platform services: social networks (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn), browsers (Safari and Chrome), operating systems (Google Android, iOs, and Windows PC Os), ad space software (Google, Amazon, and Meta), intermediary services (Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Amazon Marketplace, App Store, and Meta Marketplace), and messaging services (WhatsApp and Messenger), but also Google Search (as a search engine) and YouTube (as a video sharing platform).

The regulation entered into force on November 1, 2022 – with the rules applied after a six-month adjustment period – the Digital Markets Law specifies characteristics to identify digital market access gatekeepers and their obligations. Gatekeepers must guarantee the right of users to unsubscribe from the main platform services and the interoperability of the basic functionality of instant messaging services. In other words, the largest messaging services must open up to interoperability with smaller platforms, giving users more choice in exchanging messages, sending files, or making video calls through messaging apps. There must be “fair access” to smartphone features for app developers, and marketers will need to have access to their marketing data on online platforms. Above all, the EU Commission must be kept informed about mergers at all times to avoid so-called killer acquisitions, i.e., takeovers of emerging companies by companies that dominate the digital market.

What the Digital Markets Act prohibits is pre-installing certain software applications on the device or requiring app developers to use certain services to appear in app stores, ranking their products and services higher, and reusing private data collected for another service. There are stiff penalties for violating the rules established by the Digital Markets Act: fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover and 20 percent in case of a repeat offense. With a violation of the law at least three times in eight years, the EU executive may open a market investigation. The European Commission is solely responsible for enforcing the regulation, with the possibility given to member states to authorize national competition authorities to initiate investigations into possible infringements and forward their findings to the EU executive.