Big technology platforms are bracing for a pivotal decision in Brussels. This Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to unveil the long-awaited roster of platforms directly targeted by the Digital Markets Act, a legal framework designed to ensure fair competition and curb the dominance of major players such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.
On September 14, 2022, EU authorities approved a text that imposes particularly stringent duties on the industry’s heavyweight firms, referred to as the watchdogs. Noncompliance can trigger sanctions, potentially up to 10 percent of worldwide turnover. Yet it will be this Wednesday, almost a year after approval, that the services subject to DMA requirements will be identified for compliance.
Brussels will assemble the list by weighing the market dominance of these companies, alongside other criteria. Eligible entities must serve at least 45 million users, generate substantial business volume within the EU amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, and hold a market capitalization above a high threshold. These factors are intended to ensure that only truly influential platforms face the new rules.
Affected companies and services
The criteria are set to bring in corporate giants such as Alphabet (the parent company of Google and YouTube), Amazon, Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), and Microsoft, among others. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and Samsung have also been noted as potential subjects, based on statements in July. Each will have a six-month window, until March 6, 2024, to align with the law’s guidelines.
But the fresh list will do more than decide which firms must comply. It will also determine which components of their vast digital ecosystems fall under the DMA. Services like Instagram, the professional network LinkedIn, or even the Google search engine may come under the act due to their large European market presence, illustrating how broad the regulation could be.
The looming threat of fines has prompted some firms to push back or delay inclusion of certain services. Reports from the Financial Times indicate that Apple and Microsoft have sought to influence Brussels in recent hours. In particular, iMessage and Bing, which are smaller in scale compared to WhatsApp and Google, may face less pressure to change because their market impact is relatively modest.
New obligations
The DMA aims to curb the market power of these platforms by addressing nine distinct sectors, including social networks, desktop and mobile operating systems, web browsers, search engines, digital commerce platforms, travel booking services, and video and audio streaming. The rules vary by domain but share a core goal of fostering competition and protecting consumer choice.
Specific duties include stopping the exchange of user data between two services owned by the same company, implementing mechanisms that promote cross-service rivalry within a single ecosystem, and limiting preferential treatment of a company’s own products. These provisions are designed to prevent self-preferencing and to encourage healthier competition across platforms.