PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT ON DIGITAL MARKETS ACT
On 24 March, the European Parliament and Council negotiators provisionally agreed on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), containing new EU rules to limit the market power of big online platforms. The DMA will blacklist certain practices used by large platforms acting as “gatekeepers” and enable the Commission to carry out market investigations and sanction non-compliant behaviour.
The DMA will apply to gatekeepers, companies which create bottlenecks between businesses and consumers, and sometimes even control entire ecosystems, made up of different platform services such as online marketplaces, operating systems, cloud services or online search engines. These gatekeepers will be subject to a number of clearly defined obligations and prohibitions. These are established by reference to the most unfair market practices, or practices that create or strengthen barriers for other companies, with the overall aim of ensuring the contestability of gatekeepers' digital services. At the same time, the DMA will create an effective enforcement mechanism ensuring rapid compliance with precise obligations.
The DMA is part of the Commission’s reform of the digital space together with the Digital Services Act, aiming at ensuring a safe and accountable online environment. Taken together, this package shall establish a comprehensive set of new rules for all digital services, including social media, online market places, and other online platforms that operate in the European Union. The DMA will complement the enforcement of competition law at EU and national level. The new rules are without prejudice to the implementation of EU competition rules and national competition rules regarding unilateral behaviour.
The political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council is now subject to formal approval by the two co-legislators. Once adopted, the DMA will be directly applicable across the EU and will apply six months after entry into force.
Source: European Commission