Category: IT|Sep 7, 2023 | Author: Admin
The EU has decided to change "everything"
Share on22 services belonging to a number of large companies have been designated "gatekeepers" by the EU. This means that they must meet a number of new requirements in the EU area based on the new "Digital Markets Act" (DMA) legislation.
Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft have services that are considered “gatekeepers”
The companies obviously do not want to be on such a list, and Samsung was one of those who managed to get away with its browser on its own Android products consisting of mobile phones and tablets.
In addition, the commission has opened an investigation to assess whether Apple's iPadOS should be designated as a gatekeeper, despite the fact that they do not meet the threshold values. According to the DMA, this investigation must be completed within a maximum of 12 months.
Affected products:
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Android
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iOS
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Windows
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TikTok
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Facebook
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Instagram
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LinkedIn
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WhatsApp
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Messenger
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Google Maps
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Google Play
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Google Shopping
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Amazon Marketplace
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Apple App Store
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Meta Marketplace
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YouTube
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Google
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Amazon
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Meta
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Chrome
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Safari
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Google Search
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The following services do not qualify as gatekeepers:
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Microsoft: Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, Outlook.com
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Apple: iMessage (temporary - under further investigation)
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Google: Gmail
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Samsung: Internet Browser
We have written about the Digital Markets Act (DMA) previously:
"The DMA Act is activated if the company that operates the platform has at least 45 million monthly users in the EU and over 10,000 business users annually. If the companies do not comply with the law, they risk fines of up to 10 percent of the turnover or as much as 20 percent if the rules are broken several times."
“Users of small or large platforms will be able to exchange messages, send files or make video calls across messaging apps, giving them more choices. Regarding the interoperability obligation for social networks, co-legislators agreed that such interoperability provisions will be considered in the future.”
In addition to the requirements for messaging apps, there is also a requirement that operating systems must offer third-party app stores and allow developers to offer alternative payment methods. We are more uncertain about how long the companies have to implement exactly these things, but half a year sounds like an unreasonably short time.
What happens now?
But the companies now only have six months to fulfill these requirements, which include:
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Users are informed about and can dispute, the removal of content from platforms
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Users will have access to dispute resolution mechanisms in their own country
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Transparent terms and conditions for platforms
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More security and better knowledge of the real sellers of products that users buy
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Stronger obligations for very large online platforms to assess and reduce risks at the level of the overall organization of their service for users' rights, where limitations of rights and risks of viral spread of illegal or harmful content are most impactful
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Rapid crisis response mechanisms with additional risk management measures for public health and security crises
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New protection for minors
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Prohibition of targeted advertisements on online platforms aimed at minors or using sensitive personal data
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Access to platform data for researchers to understand risks to society and fundamental rights
