The EU is tightening the screw.
Starting Thursday, a handful of tech giants must comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
This DMA intends to put an end to their abuse of dominant position.
What is the objective of the DMA?
The European Commission noted that its traditional rules, too slow and insufficiently dissuasive, had failed to prevent certain dominant players, essentially the American "Gafam" (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft), from imposing unfair conditions on their rivals.
Over the years, they have curbed or even ousted competition in several key markets.
With the DMA, the EU is equipped with a legislative arsenal adapted to the realities of the digital economy, to protect the emergence and growth of start-ups in Europe and improve the choice offered to users.
Who is affected by these new regulations?
The rules concern groups active in at least 3 European countries, exceeding 75 billion euros in market capitalization or 7.5 billion in sales in Europe, and registering at least 45 million active end users and 10,000 business users in Europe .
For the moment these are the Americans Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft and the Chinese ByteDance, owner of TikTok.
They are called “access controllers” because they are considered essential for their users and subject to specific constraints.
The Commission has designated a total of 22 key platforms belonging to these six groups: four social networks (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), two instant messaging services (WhatsApp and Messenger), three operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows), a search engine (Google), two browsers (Chrome, Safari), six intermediation services (Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Amazon Marketplace, App Store and Meta Marketplace), the video sharing site YouTube, as well as as the advertising services of Google, Amazon and Meta.
Booking, the Dutch champion of hotel reservations, and the social network
Concretely, what do the measures look like?
“Gate controllers” must inform Brussels of any proposed acquisition of a digital company in Europe, regardless of the size of the target.
Objective: to curb the monopolization of innovation and takeovers with the sole aim of eliminating a competitor.
On the other hand, the Google search engine is prohibited from granting a more favorable ranking to products and services of the same group.
It has long been accused of favoring its Google Shopping price comparison in particular.
Also readWhy Google Maps has disappeared from Google search results?
Large platforms also tend to “lock in” users by pushing them to use their pre-installed services: Internet browser, maps, weather, etc. The DMA guarantees the possibility of uninstalling these services integrated by default and facilitates the choice of alternatives.
Users must be able to choose the software application stores of their choice and download their applications directly from the suppliers' sites, without going through the dominant players: the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Moreover, Apple no longer has the right to impose the use of its Apple Pay payment service on developers who wish to list their applications in the App Store.
WhatsApp and Messenger instant messaging must be made interoperable with competitor services that request it.
“Gatekeepers” must grant all suppliers of accessories, such as smart watches or glasses, the same access to their operating systems or software in order not to penalize any competitors.
The question of data use
“Access controllers” are prohibited from cross-referencing data collected across different platforms for advertising targeting of their users without their consent - a practice at the heart of Google and Meta's business models.
They no longer have the right to use data generated by their client companies to compete with them, as Amazon is accused of having done for years.
They must provide their customers with access to this data.
The legislation introduces data portability to make it easier for users of an online service to change providers.
Advertisers and publishers gain increased access to advertising data to know, in particular, who sees banners online and, thus, better evaluate their effectiveness.
What sanctions?
To avoid any fragmentation of the internal market, the power of control and sanctions is entrusted to the European Commission, which has set up a team of experts currently numbering around a hundred people.
The regulation provides for fines of up to 10% of the company's global turnover, and even 20% in the event of repeat offenses.
As a last resort, the Commission may impose dismantling of the offender by forcing him to sell an activity.
“We have been talking with companies for months to make them understand that the rules of the game have changed.
Any non-compliant company will face severe sanctions,” warned the European Digital Commissioner, Thierry Breton.