The European Commission has designated six Big Tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft) as “gatekeepers” under the new Digital Markets (DMA) Act.
According to Neowin, this is the first time that companies have been treated as gatekeepers since the law was enacted earlier this year. The European Commission has identified 22 core platform services provided by these gatekeepers that will now be subject to regulation, including Windows, LinkedIn, Bing Ads, Google Search, and the App Store.
Companies designated as gatekeepers have six months to comply with obligations under the DMA to curb anticompetitive behavior and promote a fair digital marketplace. Under the DMA, designated gatekeepers must open the door to competitors, providing third parties with access to key platform services such as app stores, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure.
Gatekeepers will also be prohibited from using data from one service to favor another, such as using data from a social media platform to benefit the e-commerce market due to the same company ownership.
Also under the DMA, the European Commission can designate digital platforms as gatekeepers if they provide a significant gateway between businesses and consumers in relation to platform services. core. The new designations follow a 45-day review process conducted by the commission following announcements by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung of their potential status as the gatekeepers.
The European Commission has also opened separate investigations into whether certain services provided by Microsoft and Apple, including Bing, Edge, Bing Ads, and iMessage, should be removed from the gatekeeper list. based on the companies’ arguments or not. Previously, Microsoft and Apple lobbied the European Union (EU) to prevent these services from being included in the gatekeeper list.