Big Tech race to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act

Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, the TikTok owner ByteDance, and other Big Tech companies are racing to comply with new EU tech regulations known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
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Major tech giants, including Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, have been working intensively over the past six months to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a significant EU regulatory initiative targeting ‘Big Tech.’

The DMA’s comprehensive regulatory measures, which aim to rein in the tech industry’s uncontrolled growth, are expected to reshape the global technology landscape. Concerns from rivals, users, and watchdogs indicate potential non-compliance among some companies, possibly leading to regulatory scrutiny and fines of up to 10% of their global turnover if they fail to meet the deadline.

Apple faces notable impacts under the DMA, requiring the company to open up its closed ecosystem and allowing software developers to distribute apps to the EU users outside its App Store. However, new fees introduced by Apple, such as the ‘core technology fee,’ have drawn the attention of the EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who emphasised that novel fee structures should allow businesses to switch to competitors.

Meanwhile, Google’s mandatory overhaul of search results, with eight core platform services subject to the DMA, may expose the company to potential investigations. The changes could benefit aggregators like Booking.com and Expedia, leading to online traffic shifts that have sparked concerns among hotels, airlines, and restaurants.

Meta’s announcement regarding data sharing between Instagram and Facebook users could also trigger scrutiny under the DMA, while Microsoft, Amazon, and ByteDance may face less immediate scrutiny as regulators focus on specific cases that can withstand legal challenges.

Some of the companies themselves have pressured the European Commission, arguing that it’s unfair to comply with DMA rules while competitors evade them. Unlike traditional EU antitrust investigations, DMA enforcers have a limited one-year timeframe to issue their findings, adding urgency to the regulatory landscape.