The European Commission has defined companies and services that fall under the category of “gatekeepers” within the European Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is stated in the official EU report.
The list includes 6 technology companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft. The list of services includes: social networks (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), N-IICS or messaging services (WhatsApp, Messenger), intermediary services (Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Amazon Marketplace, App Store, Meta Marketplace), video sharing (YouTube), advertising services (Google, Amazon, Meta), browsers (Chrome, Safari), search engine (Google Search), and operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows).
Companies will now have six months to ensure full compliance with the obligations of the new European legislation for services that fall into the gatekeeper category.
At the same time, the European Commission announced that it has launched four inspections to assess the claims of Microsoft and Apple that some of their services do not meet the criteria for being classified as “gatekeepers.” They are talking about Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, and iMessage. The verification must be completed within a maximum of 5 months. The same applies to Apple’s iPadOS. This check should be completed within a maximum of 12 months.
In addition, the EC concluded that Gmail, Outlook.com, and Samsung Internet Browser should not be classified as gatekeepers, as Alphabet, Microsoft, and Samsung provided sufficiently substantiated arguments for this.
As it is known, the purpose of the Digital Markets Law is to prevent gatekeepers from imposing unfair conditions on businesses and users. The document also aims to ensure the openness of important digital services.
The “gatekeepers” category includes companies with a certain level of turnover in Europe and the number of users. The law imposes many obligations on them.
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