In the European Union, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into effect on March 7. This regulation aims to prevent large technology companies from abusing their dominant position and enable new players to enter the market.
It currently applies to 22 services from six major technology companies, which act as so-called “gatekeepers”, that is, they control access to the market for other players. These include five American companies – Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, as well as the Chinese ByteDance.
Under the DMA, these companies are required, among other things, to ensure that their messaging apps interoperate with competitors and allow users to decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. They are not allowed to favor their own services over those of competitors or prevent users from removing pre-installed software or applications.
For non-compliance with the law, companies could face a fine of up to 10 % of global annual turnover and up to 20 % for repeated violations.
Along with the DMA, the EU countries already have a law on digital services (Digital Services Act, DSA), obliging Internet platforms and social networks to take measures to protect users from illegal content, goods and services.
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