Today (2 May 2023), the Digital Markets Acts (DMA) European legislation comes into force. This legislation will end some behaviour on some of the world's biggest digital platforms by imposing stricter competition rules on them, among other things. These rules aim to better protect European citizens and businesses from the power of large platforms which will be designated as gatekeepers on 6 September 2023.
Platforms can be designated as gatekeepers if they have a minimum turnover of €7.5 billion, operate in three or more European member states, have 45 million or more end users and at least 10,000 business users. Platforms with a gatekeeper function have two months from today to notify that they are covered by the new rules. The video below explains:
Interoperability, access to data and equal opportunities for entrepreneurs
According to the legislation, there must be interoperability, this allows third parties to use and operate on gatekeepers' platforms. An example is messaging between different services and platforms. Business users must be given access to all data they generate while using a platform and the platform must not use this data without explicit consent. Companies should also be allowed to offer their own offers and contracts to their customers outside the designated platforms.
Consumers in control
Gatekeepers may not offer their own products and services more favourably to end users by giving them better positions in search results or listings than comparable options from parties active on the platforms. Consumers may not be prevented from doing business with companies operating outside gatekeepers' platforms. End users and consumers must also be allowed to uninstall any pre-installed default software or apps from devices if they wish. This also applies to search engines and speech-driven systems.
With this legislation, the European Commission is creating opportunities for the ICT sector in the areas of interoperability, privacy and data, and offering businesses opportunities to do business digitally and compete fairly.