The European Commission has just announced a groundbreaking investigation targeting major American tech companies Apple, Google, and Meta, over suspected violations of the newly implemented Digital Markets Act (DMA). The investigation, marking the first enforcement of the DMA, seeks to curb the dominance of ‘gatekeepers’ in the digital sphere.
Under the new rules, ‘gatekeepers’ such as Google and Apple are under scrutiny for alleged anti-competitive practices, including prioritising their own services and limiting consumer choice within their respective platforms. Google faces accusations of favouring its own services in search results and stifling competition on its app distribution platform, Google Play. Similarly, Apple is under scrutiny for allegedly restricting users’ ability to choose alternative browsers and software on its App Store.
Meanwhile, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is being investigated for potentially coercing users into a binary choice between paying for services or sharing personal data, a practice deemed overly restrictive by the European Commission.
European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager emphasised the seriousness of the cases, highlighting the potential consequences for the tech giants if found guilty. Fines could amount to up to 10 percent of their global annual turnover, translating to tens of billions of euros in penalties.
The investigation is expected to conclude within a year, after which the companies will receive directives on necessary reforms and potential penalties. Commissioner Vestager stressed the gravity of the situation, indicating that if the issues were easily rectifiable, action would have been taken sooner.
Editor: Andreea Gudin
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