Seven major tech companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung — have told the European Union that they meet the criteria to be considered "gatekeepers" under its new digital law. The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) imposes tougher obligations and restrictions on these designated "gatekeepers," such as bans on self-preferencing and limitations on data usage. According to the DMA, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users or a market capitalization of more €75B ($82B) are classified as "gatekeepers." - This means they have to ensure that their messaging apps can work alongside competitors' apps, granting users the freedom to choose which apps to pre-install on their devices.
- Gatekeepers are also barred from showing preference to their own services over competitors' or preventing users from uninstalling pre-installed software or app.
- Violations of the DMA can result in fines of up to 10% of a company's annual global turnover, or as high as 20% for repeat offenses.
- Once confirmed by Sept. 6, the companies will have six months to adhere to the rules.
|
