Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft have informed the European Commission that they meet the criteria to be considered gatekeepers under the new EU tech rules, according to EU industry chief Thierry Breton.
According to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was enacted last November, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization of 75 billion euros are considered gatekeepers that provide a core platform service.
Breton also stated that Samsung and TikTok owner ByteDance have confirmed that they meet the EU thresholds.
“Europe is comprehensively restructuring its digital space to both better protect EU citizens and promote innovation for EU startups and companies,” said Breton in a statement.
The Commission will confirm the gatekeeper designation by September 6 after verifying the data provided by the companies. The companies will then have six months to comply with the DMA rules.
Booking.com expects to meet the gatekeeper threshold by the end of the year and will notify the EU executive at that time.
Companies designated as gatekeepers will be required to allow their messaging apps to interoperate with competitors and enable users to choose which apps to pre-install on their devices.
They will be prohibited from favoring their own services over competitors’ or preventing users from removing pre-installed software or apps, two rules that will have a significant impact on Google and Apple.
Companies that violate the DMA can be fined up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.