Warning from the European Union to Google... It will limit its power

The EU Commission announced that it has identified a list of companies that meet the "gatekeeper" criteria, which aims to prevent the imposition of unfair conditions on businesses and users and to ensure that essential digital services remain open to use under the Digital Markets Act.

In the Commission's statement, it was noted that 6 companies—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft—have been classified as gatekeepers for the first time, and that these companies have 6 months to comply with the additional responsibilities under the new law for the 22 core services they provide.

The statement emphasized that claims regarding whether Microsoft and Apple should not be classified as gatekeepers for certain core platform services would be evaluated, and it was noted that the Commission has launched an investigation specifically into Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, and Apple iMessage.

The statement pointed out that the Commission has decided not to list Gmail, Outlook.com, and the Samsung internet browser as "core platform services," despite them meeting certain criteria.

THEY WILL LIMIT MARKET POWER

Under the law approved by the EU last year, which will cause changes in the operations of digital platforms, new rules will be implemented specifically to limit the market power of large digital platforms.

In this context, large platforms operating in Europe with a market value of at least 75 billion euros and reaching more than 45 million users will be designated as "gatekeepers."

These technology companies and digital platforms will be subject to stricter rules than others. Measures will be implemented to prevent firms from engaging in unfair competition in their sectors.

Under the law, different messaging services within these companies will be required to be interoperable, and large platforms will be prevented from prioritizing their own various services over similar services offered by rival firms.

Users will not be prevented from uninstalling pre-installed software or applications.

If large companies fail to comply with the established market rules, some of their operations may be suspended. While their compliance with obligations will be closely monitored, platforms will submit a compliance report every 6 months.

If firms in the position of gatekeepers violate the rules, they may be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover.

In cases of repeated rule violations, the fine may be increased to 20 percent. In the event of continuous and systemic rule violations, the EU Commission may force these firms to divest certain operations.

The new rules are planned to be implemented in March 2024.

News Source: 12punto