The European Commission has initiated its inaugural probes into the alleged “non-compliance” of Alphabet, Apple, and Meta with the Digital Markets Act. This legislation aims to prevent dominant Big Tech firms from monopolizing digital markets.
On March 25, the executive commission of the European Union bloc, consisting of 27 nations, announced that it is currently investigating Alphabet’s regulations regarding steering on Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search. Additionally, the commission is examining Apple’s regulations on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari, as well as Meta’s “pay or consent model.”
Furthermore, the European Commission has initiated investigative measures pertaining to Apple’s recent alteration in fee arrangement for alternative app stores, as well as Amazon’s practices of ranking on its marketplace. The objective of the Digital Markets Act is to guarantee equitable conduct by these major online platforms, which are often referred to as “gatekeepers,” within the realm of digital markets.
In September 2023, the European Union regulator identified six companies, namely Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, as gatekeepers. These companies are responsible for providing 22 essential platform services, including search engines, social networks, and chat applications that are widely utilized by other businesses. As per the law, these gatekeepers are obligated to adhere to specific guidelines to ensure fair competition among their competitors and to offer users a wider range of options.
The investigation is expected to be completed within a year, as stated by the commission. However, during the briefing on Monday, Vestager and Breton emphasized that the DMA does not impose a strict deadline for the inquiry’s timeline. The regulators will notify the companies of their initial findings and provide recommendations on the actions that need to be taken by the gatekeepers or the measures being implemented by the commission to address their concerns. In the event that any company is found to have violated the DMA, the commission has the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of the tech firms’ global revenue. In cases of repeated infringement, these penalties can be increased to 20%.
