Digital Markets Act

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a legislative proposal by the European Commission submitted to the European Parliament and the European Council on 15 December 2020. The DMA is the sister proposal of the Digital Services Act (DSA) tabled on the same day by the European Commission.[1] The DMA was prepared by Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager and by European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, as members of the Von der Leyen Commission.

Objective of the DMA

The DMA targets specifically Big Tech companies.[1] The DMA proposed to classify certain platforms, for example those with more than 45 million users in Europe, including Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon as ‘gatekeepers’ making them subject to new obligations.[2] Aims at preventing large companies to abuse their market power and to allow smaller and new players to enter the market.[3]

New obligations for gatekeeper platforms

One key objective is to put an end to a practice called self-preferencing[3] by companies like for example Google, which can display their products more prominently among the results of Google search. Gatekeeper companies could also be prohibited to re-use people's personal data in other products, for example Facebook could be restricted in using the data obtained from its subsidiary WhatsApp.[4] Companies that do not comply with the new obligations risk fines of up to 10% on their worldwide turnover.[5]

Next steps

The DMA is currently a legislative proposal. In order to become law it requires the approval by the European Council and the European Parliament, which is expected to take around a year and a half from the time the DMA was proposed by the European Commission in December 2020.[6] In January 2021, the Parliament Internal Market Committee confirmed that the EPP group will lead the DMA in Parliament.[7]

References
  1. Espinoza, Javier; Hindley, Scott (December 16, 2019). "Brussels'plans to tackle digital 'gatekeepers' spark fevered debate". Financial Times. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. Webb, Alex (December 16, 2020). "Google, Amazon and Apple Face the Nuclear Option". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. Amaro, Silvia (December 15, 2020). "EU announces sweeping new rules that could force breakups and hefty fines for Big Tech". CNBC. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. "The EU's attempt to regulate Big Tech: What it brings and what is missing". European Digital Rights (EDRi). December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. Sánchez Nicolás, Elena (December 16, 2020). "Online giants could face 10% fines under new EU law". EUobserver. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. Tidey, Alice; Lazaro, Ana; Parrock, Jack (December 15, 2020). "Digital Services Act: Brussels vows to 'put order into chaos' of digital world with new tech laws". Euronews. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. Stolton, Samuel (2021-01-22). "Digital Brief, powered by Facebook: AI in EU, US tech rundown, Digital Euro plans". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
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