The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a new European regulation that aims to create a fairer and more competitive digital environment. The DMA focuses on large online platforms, also known as "gatekeepers", which have a significant impact on the European single market.
The DMA establishes a series of obligations for these platforms, with the aim of preventing them from abusing their dominant position and ensuring that smaller companies and consumers have fair access to the digital market.
The DMA is a European regulation that came into force on May 2, 2023, and will become operational in early 2024. The DMA applies to large online platforms that meet certain criteria, such as having an annual turnover of at least 7.5 billion euros or at least 45 million monthly active users in the European Union.
The DMA's fundamental objectives are:
- Promote competition in the European digital market.
- Protect consumers from abusive practices by large online platforms.
- Guarantee fair access to the digital market for smaller companies.
The DMA establishes a series of obligations for large online platforms, among which are:
- Allow users to uninstall preinstalled applications.
- Allow users to choose their default web browser and search engine.
- Allow users to access their data and share it with other companies.
- Do not use user data to compete with them.
- Do not discriminate against smaller companies on their platforms.
The question that arises is: Will the DMA be able to change and control the behavior of the technology giants?
I think it is too early to say whether the DMA will be able to change and control the behavior of the tech giants. The DMA is a new regulation and has not yet been fully implemented. However, the DMA has the potential to significantly change the landscape of the European digital market, and some large technology companies have already said that they are going to modify their systems. Now we need to check if they really do it, and act accordingly and forcefully if they don't.
And for that, the European authorities must closely monitor the behavior of the large online platforms, and quickly and severely sanction any infractions they have. Something that has not happened in the past.
DMA could have a number of positive effects, such as:
- Improved consumer protection against abusive practices.
- Greater level playing field for smaller companies in the digital market.
- Increased competition in the European digital market.
Big companies always threaten with the same old reasoning, saying that these actions could increase costs and reduce innovation in the market. But what they are really looking for is to continue taking advantage of a privileged situation.
Let's hope that in a few months these new rules will begin to work and that citizens will see the results.
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