"March 7 marks a real turning point for our European digital space, because, from this date onwards, the big platforms can no longer impose their conditions, at their whim, on the entire market, and especially on smaller competitors." This is how Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the single market, celebrates the entry into force of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the regulation designed to subject digital giants to competition rules. However, this enthusiasm is not shared by some players in the sector, who are sounding the alarm about the actual implementation of the bill.
Six companies – Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft, and ByteDance (TikTok) – had to submit changes to 22 of their services by Wednesday, March 6. Social media network X and hotel booking site Booking are expected to join them soon, as they now also meet the size criteria set by the DMA (45 million individual users in the European Union or 10,000 companies).
Apple will open the door to other stores for downloading applications onto its iPhones, and to other payment methods. Apple will also provide smartphone users with screens to choose their browser or search engine. Google will have to do the same on Android phones. The idea is to be able to avoid the manufacturer's software such as Safari (Apple) or Chrome (Google), and also to discover other possibilities such as Opera or Ecosia.
Google, which already offers third-party application stores, will also have to open up its search engine further: For queries on hotels or airline tickets, the service will display those of competitors alongside its comparison services. In the same vein, Microsoft will enable Windows users to uninstall its Bing, Edge, Photos, and Cortana services.
Google will also ask its users whether they authorize the cross-referencing of data collected by its various services, from search engines to YouTube (video), Google Maps (cartography) or Gmail (e-mail). Meta will have to do the same for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Marketplace. Similar consent requests will be issued by Microsoft and e-commerce leader Amazon, for its advertising services.
These changes are in addition to earlier modifications made by the digital giants under pressure from competition authorities or in anticipation of the DMA: Amazon has pledged not to use data from merchants on its platform to sell its own products, or to offer more competing offers on its "buy" button. Google has promised to stop abusing its dominant position to favor its services in its advertising offer.
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