The European Commission has identified notable entities such as Elon Musk’s social network X, ByteDance (owner of TikTok), and Booking.com as potential gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This classification could lead to heightened regulatory scrutiny within the European region.
Understanding Gatekeepers and DMA Criteria
Gatekeepers, as defined by the DMA, are significant online platforms serving as crucial intermediaries between business users and consumers. The criteria for this classification involve services with over 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization exceeding €75 billion.
Implications of Gatekeeper Status
The DMA aims to curb the influence of large tech corporations by imposing additional obligations on designated gatekeepers. These include ensuring compatibility with third-party products and empowering users to independently choose software products. Furthermore, gatekeepers are prohibited from favoring their services over competitors’ and blocking the removal of pre-installed applications.
The European Commission now has a 45-day period to determine whether to officially designate these companies as gatekeepers, adds NIXSolutions. During this period, the Commission will carefully evaluate any arguments presented by the companies to challenge the presumption of their gatekeeper status.