The tech giants under investigation/ShutterStock
Europe is targeting the tech giants: the European Commission announced yesterday (Monday) the opening of an investigation against Apple, Google and Meta on suspicion of violating the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which requires platforms to become more open to competition.
The companies are suspected of exploiting their dominant position in the digital market, harming competing companies and consumers.
"We suspect that the solutions proposed by the three companies do not fully meet the requirements of the DMA," said Margaret Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, in a statement.
"We will now investigate the compliance of the companies with the law, to ensure open and competitive digital markets in Europe."
At the beginning of this month, the law came into effect, which aims to curb the power of the technology giants.
The law requires companies like Apple to open up their app stores, which would allow users to more easily switch between competing online services, such as social media platforms, web browsers and other app stores.
Among the main suspicions is the accusation that Apple and Alphabet (Google's parent company) prevent app developers from referring customers to third-party app stores on iPhone and Android devices free of charge.
According to the European Union, this behavior harms competition and makes it difficult for small developers to compete with large companies.
In addition, it is claimed that Google prefers its own services in its search results.
In addition, the European regulator is also examining the rate structure that Apple announced for distributing apps outside of its app store, Apple's browser selection screen in the iOS operating system, as well as whether Amazon prefers its own products in its store.
The Commission also announced that Meta was given an additional six months to make Messenger, its messaging service, compatible with other messaging services.
Among the main suspicions is the accusation that Apple and Alphabet (Google's parent company)/Walla!
Technology, Yanon Ben Shoshan
"We are not convinced that the solutions of Alphabet, Apple and Meta respect their commitments for a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses," EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement.
"If our investigation concludes that there is a complete lack of compliance with the DMA, the "Gatekeepers" companies may face heavy fines."
After the investigation, the commission will inform each technology giant what it needs to do to address the concerns, as well as what steps the regulator intends to take.
In case of non-compliance, the Commission may impose on any company a fine of up to 10% of its annual global revenues under the Digital Markets Law, or even 20% in cases of "repeated violations".
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