The European Commission has started formal inquiries into Apple, Google (Alphabet), and Meta (Facebook) for potential violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This important law aims to stop big technology companies from using unfair practices that limit competition and hurt consumers. We’ve already seen them skim the line, but the EU Commission is not messing around.
The Commission is currently looking into several important areas. First, both Google and Apple are being investigated for their app store regulations. The Commission worries that these rules could make it difficult for app developers to guide users to other payment options or special deals outside the tech giants’ platforms. Moreover, charging fees for these actions might unfairly restrict competition.
Google is also being investigated for the way it runs its search engine. The European Commission suspects that Google may be showing its own specialized search services, like Shopping or Flights, more prominently than similar services from other companies. This could break the rules about fair and equal treatment.
Apple is being asked about how well it follows the DMA’s rules on giving users choices. There are worries that the steps for users to remove apps, change basic settings, and pick different browsers or search engines might not be fair or easy enough. Basically, is Apple making it hard to remove or avoid its own services vs. others? We’ve reported that Apple attempted to get away with retaliating against Epic Games, but the Commission quickly reversed that. So it’s happened before.
“The Commission is concerned that Alphabet’s and Apple’s measures may not be fully compliant as they impose various restrictions and limitations. These constrain, among other things, developers’ ability to freely communicate and promote offers and directly conclude contracts, including by imposing various charges.”
EU Commission statement
The Commission is reviewing Meta’s recently introduced “pay or consent” model. This model asks users to either agree to have their data combined across Meta’s services or to opt for a premium version at a cost. That’s right; you either agree or pay for a premium version, which doesn’t sound fair to users. There are concerns that this setup might not offer a real choice for users, potentially conflicting with the DMA’s rules on fair data usage.
In addition to these particular inquiries, the Commission is investigating whether Amazon prioritizes its own products and whether Apple’s new fee system for other app stores is meant to avoid its DMA responsibilities.
In layman’s terms, even though the DMA is clear, many companies seem to be ignoring or trying to get away with breaking the rules.
“The Commission has also adopted five retention orders addressed to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, asking them to retain documents which might be used to assess their compliance with the DMA obligations, so as to preserve available evidence and ensure effective enforcement.”
EU Commission statement
The European Commission has one year to complete these investigations. If the companies are found to have violated the DMA, they could be fined up to 20% of their global turnover. In cases of repeated or systematic violations, the Commission may also impose further actions, such as forced divestitures or bans on specific acquisitions. It will be cool to see.
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