EU antitrust regulators on Monday (March 25) initiated their first investigations under the Digital Markets Act, targeting tech giants Apple, Alphabet’s Google, and Meta Platforms for potential violations of the landmark EU tech regulations.
According to the statement issued, the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, said that the suspicions are that the measures implemented by these dominant players do not adequately comply with their obligations.
“The (European) Commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA,” the EU executive said.
The commission will conduct investigations that will scrutinise Alphabet’s rules regarding steering on Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search. It will also investigate Apple’s regulations concerning steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.
Further, the EU competition enforcer will also put Apple’s revised fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace under a microscope.
What is Digital Markets Act?
The Digital Markets Act, which came into force earlier this month, is a comprehensive set of regulations aimed at major technology “gatekeeper” firms offering essential platform services. These companies are required to adhere to a strict set of guidelines, failure to which could result in significant financial penalties or the possibility of business divestiture.
The regulations are designed with the overarching yet ambiguous objective of fostering fairness and competition in digital markets. They aim to dismantle closed technological ecosystems that limit consumer choice by monopolising products or services under a single company’s control.
The European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager, who is the bloc’s competition chief, also heard complaints that tech companies’ measures to comply have fallen short.
“We decided to investigate a number of these suspected non-compliance issues. And as we unearth other problems, we will tackle those too,” he said. He also informed that industry groups such as the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a nonprofit trade organization based in Washington representing technology and communications companies, swiftly opposed the decision.
“The timing of these announcements, while the DMA compliance workshops are still ongoing, makes it look like the Commission could be jumping the gun,” the group said in a prepared statement.
“Possible outcomes aside, this move risks confirming industry fears that the DMA compliance process might end up being politicised.”
