EC Initiates DMA Proceedings Against Alphabet, Apple and Meta
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Investigations have been opened against Alphabet, Apple and Meta for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act. This includes the rules that govern how Apple controls the App Store and how Google controls the Play Store.
The European Commission has opened investigations against Alphabet, Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In particular, the Commission is investigating Alphabet's steering rules in Google Play and self-preferencing in Google Search, Apple's steering rules in the App Store and the choice screen in Safari, and Meta's "pay or consent" model. The Commission suspects that the measures taken by these gatekeepers are not sufficient to comply with their obligations under the DMA, which entered into force on 7 March 2024. Investigations have also been opened into Apple's new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon's ranking practices on its marketplace.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy: Today, the Commission opens five non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). They concern Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing in Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and on choosing browsers and changing defaults, and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’. We suspect that the suggested solutions put forward by the three companies do not fully comply with the DMA. We will now investigate the companies’ compliance with the DMA, to ensure open and contestable digital markets in Europe.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market: The Digital Markets Act became applicable on 7 March. We have been in discussions with gatekeepers for months to help them adapt, and we can already see changes happening on the market. But we are not convinced that the solutions by Alphabet, Apple and Meta respect their obligations for a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses. Should our investigation conclude that there is lack of full compliance with the DMA, gatekeepers could face heavy fines.
The Commission intends to complete the procedure launched today within twelve months. In the event of an infringement, the Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company's total worldwide turnover. In the case of repeated infringements, these fines can rise to 20%. The Commission may also impose additional remedies in the case of systematic infringements.
The DMA aims to ensure competitive and fair markets in the digital sector in Europe. It regulates gatekeepers, which are large digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers, and whose position can give them the power to create a bottleneck in the digital economy. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, the six gatekeepers designated by the Commission in September 2023, covering 22 core platform services, had to fully comply with all DMA obligations by 7 March 2024.
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