Tech giants, including Apple, Meta (owner of Facebook), and ByteDance (parent company of TikTok), are now subject to the most stringent regulations imposed by the European Union (EU) on how they conduct their operations.
The European Commission, the EU’s most influential antitrust authority, revealed a list on September 6 designating 22 “core platform” services under six major US tech corporations as “gatekeepers.” These tech giants are Google’s parent company, Alphabet; Amazon; Apple; Meta; Microsoft; and China’s ByteDance.
Brussels is in the process of implementing an ambitious legislative plan to establish stricter regulations for big tech, citing the need to protect European consumers online. This move is also aimed at fostering competition in a market primarily dominated by US tech giants.
The new laws will impact services such as Apple’s App Store, Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Google’s YouTube and Chrome browser, as well as Apple’s Safari. Operating systems from Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Alphabet’s Google Maps, Play, and Shopping will also fall under the purview of the new regulations.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets the market influence of the world’s leading tech companies, is one of the world’s most robust pieces of legislation. It is designed to make it easier for users to switch between competing services, such as social media platforms, web browsers, and app stores.
The EU Commission identified 22 services offered by top tech companies as “gatekeepers” of online services. This designation entails that these businesses must now ensure their messaging apps are interoperable with competitors and allow users to choose which applications to pre-install on their devices. Additionally, under the DMA, these services must obtain explicit consent from users before tracking their activities for advertising purposes.
The firms have a six-month grace period to comply with these regulations.
Apple expressed concerns about the stringent EU restrictions and highlighted the privacy and data security risks posed by the Digital Markets Act. In a statement, Apple said, “Our focus will be on how we mitigate these impacts.”
Microsoft accepted its designation as a gatekeeper and welcomed the Commission’s decision to investigate the potential exemption of Microsoft’s services Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Ads from the DMA.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, stated that it was assessing the Commission’s designation.
Post Your Comments