Brussels, BELGIUM — European Union leaders have reached a political agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposal. The compromise between the European Parliament, the Commission, and the Council of Ministers paves the way for formal adoption of the regulation, which is expected to come into force this October.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) acknowledges lawmakers’ hard work on this legislation of great significance to the technology industry.
The DMA borrows remedies from ongoing competition enforcement cases but applies them on a one-size-fits-all basis to all platform services of companies designated as “gatekeepers”. Expert economists, including from Oxera and the Berkeley Research Group Institute, have cautioned that this approach is likely to have significant unintended consequences that could harm consumers and business users of platform services in Europe. It also risks spilling over onto smaller technology companies.
CCIA continues to support EU-wide harmonisation of rules, including when regulating platform-to-business relations, but has previously identified areas of concerns with the DMA’s provisions, and urged negotiators to make the DMA workable.
As legislators iron out the final details of the DMA, and regulators set up the teams necessary to enforce it, we hope sufficient resources are allocated and that impacted companies will be given a fair chance to comply. Ultimately, the success of this regulation will be judged by its effects on European consumers, business users of platform services, and the wider digital economy.
