Digital Markets Act
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is the European Union's regulation on large digital platforms, which entered into force on the end of 2022.[1] Combined with the Digital Services Act, these form a package of digital regulation in the EU.[2] The DMA limits the power of large digital platforms[3] The heaviest regulation applies to the so called "gatekeepers", which are the largest platforms the regulation targets. For these gatekeepers, non-compliance with the DMA has potential fines up to 10% of the total worldwide turnover (Art. 30.1), which goes up to a 20% maximum if it happens again within 8 years (Art. 30.2), or additional remedies if non-compliance persists. Parts of the DMA are designations for the future, giving tasks to these large platforms to open up to their competitors.
Overview[edit | edit source]
The introduction of the DMA has resulted in investigations by the European Commission. Regarding consumer rights, the key sections from article 6 are listed here for reference to get a general idea of what this regulation implies for gatekeepers, and the designation of article 7 is discussed as it also shows how the EU tasks gatekeepers for the future.
Article 6[edit | edit source]
6.3 The gatekeeper shall allow and technically enable end users to easily un-install any software applications on the operating system of the gatekeeper, without prejudice to the possibility for that gatekeeper to restrict such un-installation in relation to software applications that are essential for the functioning of the operating system or of the device and which cannot technically be offered on a standalone basis by third parties. The gatekeeper shall allow and technically enable end users to easily change default settings ...
6.4 The gatekeeper shall allow and technically enable the installation and effective use of third-party software applications or software application stores using, or interoperating with, its operating system and allow those software applications or software application stores to be accessed by means other than the relevant core platform services of that gatekeeper. The gatekeeper shall, where applicable, not prevent the downloaded third-party software applications or software application stores from prompting end users to decide whether they want to set that downloaded software application or software application store as their default. The gatekeeper shall technically enable end users who decide to set that downloaded software application or software application store as their default to carry out that change easily.
6.5 The gatekeeper shall not treat more favourably, in ranking and related indexing and crawling, services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself than similar services or products of a third party. The gatekeeper shall apply transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions to such ranking.
6.6 The gatekeeper shall not restrict technically or otherwise the ability of end users to switch between, and subscribe to, different software applications and services that are accessed using the core platform services of the gatekeeper, including as regards the choice of Internet access services for end users.
Article 7[edit | edit source]
This article has a designation for end-to-end encrypted communication, like texting etc., to be made interoperable. Gatekeepers are tasked offer interoperability to any other service that makes a reasonable request to build interoperability (Art. 7.5). While the DMA does not finalize this interoperability yet, there have already been initiatives to build interoperability separately. There are already standards emerging like the ActivityPub protocol. That protocol already achieved interoperability across decentralized platforms, and larger centralized platforms start to show interest. The Threads app from Meta, which operates both ways with Instagram from Meta, is testing interoperability with Mastodon via this protocol.[4] Such efforts make it possible to send, read and reply to messages to users across different social media platforms.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ European Parliament, Council of the European Union (14 Sep 2022). "Digital Markets Act". Europa.eu. Archived from the original on 14 Jan 2025. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.
- ↑ "The Digital Services Act package". Europa.eu. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2025. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.
- ↑ Whitney, Lance (14 Dec 2023). "Why your Threads posts will soon be accessible on Mastodon". Zdnet. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 24 Feb 2025.