On the evening of March 24, a little before 11 p.m., Europe announced that it had reached a provisional agreement on the supervision of digital markets through the Digital Markets Act (DMA). ” This agreement ushers in a new era in global technology regulation,” explains Andreas Schwab, draftsman of the text. If it still has to be adopted by the Parliament and the Council, it will be a ‘mere’ last little step to historical regulation adopted yesterday evening by the trialogue (Parliament, Council and Commission).
Express gestation for the Digital Markets Act
Historic, firstly because its outlines were drawn and validated in just 15 months, when Europe had taken 4 years to adopt the GDPR. On December 15, 2020, Margrethe Vestager and Thierry Breton jointly presented the Digital Markets Act. They had then expressed the wish to see him adopted “ as soon as possible “. We estimated then that the process would take 2 years as the DMA has repercussions on the digital markets… Here it is provisionally finalized with 10 months in advance, without however leaving a premature agreement.
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Historical, because the Digital Markets Act comes to regulate an unequal digital world. The Internet we use today has developed without a framework or rules of good conduct. It will have taken many years for Europe to protect the personal data of its residents, and even more so for its companies to prosper in due course. ” Today, the rules are changing for a better sharing of value and more innovation! enthused last night Cédric O, Secretary of State for the Digital Transition and Electronic Communications.
What does DMA require?
The DMA will apply to companies considered in the text as ” gatekeepers ” Where ” access controllers “.
Several criteria make it possible to identify them, and they are first of a financial nature. They must have an annual turnover of 7.5 billion eurosor a market capitalization of at least 75 billion euros. A point that has just been updated, since it was a question of 6.5 billion euros in turnover and 65 billion euros in capitalization. Beyond the financial aspects, they must count at least 45 million users per month in the European Unionand 10,000 professional users per year.
On these access controllers, Europe will impose more openings. Thus, services like Messenger or iMessage will have to allow a interoperability with other messaging applications. Regarding social networks and the adoption of a similar approach, the European Parliament prefers to take more time, and announces that “ such arrangements will be evaluated in the future “.
Another important point, this latest version of the Digital Markets Act includes a restriction on theassociation of personal data from multiple sources for ad targeting purposes. This practice will be prohibited without the explicit consent of an Internet user. This point is particularly reflected in the Digital Services Act, “ we have reached an agreement to address these points in the DSA,” recalled Cédric O at a press conference.
Other important anti-competitive elements will in particular regulate the practice ofself-referencing (Google privileging its own services in the search results), give the free choice of browsersearch engine, and virtual assistant on any device, limit the grouping of servicesprevent the preinstallation of certain applications, …
In terms of sanctions, access controllers who do not comply with the rules of the Digital Markets Act expose themselves to fines of up to 10% of their worldwide annual turnover. This sanction may go up to 20% in the event of recidivism.
” The European Parliament has helped to ensure that the legislation produces immediate tangible results: consumers will have the choice to use the main services of big technology companies such as search engines or messaging services, without losing control over personal data. In addition, the legislation avoids any form of excessive regulation for small businesses. App developers will benefit from new opportunities, SMEs will have better access to business-relevant data and the online advertising market will become fairer”explains Andreas Schwab in a press release.
Now it’s up to the European Parliament and Council to adopt the Digital Markets Act. A step whose results will be influenced by lobbying campaigns already in place, which Thierry Breton referred to as “ headwinds “. Nevertheless, the DMA already seems to be unanimous as its rules are fundamental for the development of digital in Europe.