EU Digital Markets Act Targets Tech Gatekeepers to Ensure Fair Competition
The EU's Digital Markets Act establishes clear rules to regulate large digital platforms known as gatekeepers, requiring them to follow specific obligations and prohibitions.
The European Union's Digital Markets Act is a landmark law designed to make the digital sector fairer and more contestable. It establishes clear, objective criteria to identify "gatekeepers," which are large digital platforms that provide core services like online search engines, app stores, and messaging systems. Once designated as a gatekeeper, a company must comply with a strict set of obligations and prohibitions.
This regulation represents one of the first comprehensive tools to directly address the market power of the largest technology companies. The DMA works alongside existing EU competition rules without replacing them, meaning traditional antitrust laws continue to apply fully to all businesses operating in the region.
The European Commission acts as the sole enforcer of the DMA through a joint team from its competition and technology departments. The Commission actively monitors compliance and publishes annual reports on the law's implementation, recent reviews showing that the DMA has a positive impact and remains fit for purpose.