The European Commission named six major technology companies (the Alphabets, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) as guardians of the new law on digital markets (DMA). This is the first time the companies have been labeled as watchdogs since the legislation came into force earlier this year.
The commission identified 22 key services provided by these companies that will now be subject to increased controls. These services include Windows, LinkedIn, Bing Ads, Search Google and the App Store.
The companies defined as gatekeepers they will have six months to comply with their obligations under the Digital Markets Act. This time is intended to limit anti-competitive behavior and promote fair digital markets. According to the DMA, designated gatekeepers should open up their services, giving third parties access to essential 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 an e-commerce marketplace owned by the same company.
Today's decisions will be followed by a review process after 45 days at Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft and Samsung on whether they should be gatekeepers or not.
The committee also announced separate investigations into whether certain services provided by Microsoft and Apple – including Bing, Edge, Bing Ads and iMessage – should be excluded from the gatekeeper definition with base the companies' arguments.
Failure to comply with the DMA could result in fines of up to 10% of a company's annual turnover and up to 20% for repeat offences. The commission will also be able to impose remedies by forcing the sale of business units.
