About the Digital Markets Act:
- It is a groundbreaking European law aiming to prevent large online platforms that connect consumers with content, goods, and services from abusing their market power.
- The European Commission believes that keeping the big internet companies in check can lead to more competition and choice, greater innovation, better quality, and lower prices.
- Key Measures
- Tighter restrictions on how digital gatekeepers can use people’s data—users must give their explicit consent for their activities to be tracked for advertising purposes.
- Messaging services and social media platforms teaming up and sharing users. This could mean, for example, Meta-owned WhatsApp users being able to send messages directly to a completely different messaging service, such as Telegram.
- Presenting users with the option to uninstall preloaded applications on devices.
- Gatekeepers are banned from ranking their own products or services higher than others in online searches.
- According to the rules, any service offered by the company that meets two criteria is gatekeeper designated. These are:
- They have a market value of at least EUR 75 billion (approximately $82 billion), and
- Either own a social platform or app that is used by at least 45 million people every month or have at least 10,000 active business users.
- The bulk of the DMA will become enforceable during 2023.
