After eight hours of negotiations, European Union lawmakers reached an agreement to approve the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The new legislation will seek put an end to abusive practices companies like Google, Meta, Apple or Amazon, limit their power over certain services and business practices.
Parliament and Council negotiators have agreed on a provisional text applicable to companies that provide central platform services. Nicknamed “gatekeepers”, these companies have a market capitalization of more than 75 billion euros and are subject to unfair commercial practices.
The first agreement of the law of digital markets provides for the messaging service interoperability bigger. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or iMessage Apple will have to open up and interact with smaller customers. This means that a user will be able to send messages, files or make video calls between messaging apps. For group chat, the requirement will be implemented over the next four years.
The gardians” cannot combine personal data from various sources for targeted advertising without the explicit consent of the user. They must also allow the consumer chooses freely browser, search engine or virtual assistant.
The interoperability between social networks was put on the table, although lawmakers agreed to analyze it in the future.
In the event of non-compliance by the company with the Digital Markets Law a penalty of up to 10% of the total billing volume will be applied in the world during the previous financial year, and 20% in the event of a recurrence. The Commission can prohibit the “gatekeeper” from buying other companies if it commits systematic violations.
The Digital Markets Act will come into force in the EU in the coming months
The preliminary text must be finalized before subject to the consent of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Digital Markets Act agreements will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU and the rules will apply six months after.
According to Andreas Schwab, MEP representing the IMCO Committee, today’s agreement marks the beginning of a new era of technological regulation.
“The Digital Markets Act puts an end to the growing dominance of big tech companies. Now they have to show that they also enable fair competition on the internet,” Schwab said. The lawmaker said the legislation ensures more competition, innovation and more options for users.
The details of this agreement will be presented tomorrow at a press conference attended by Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President of the Commission; Cédric O, French Secretary of State for Digital Transition; Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, and Andreas Schwab, Parliament’s rapporteur.
