The European Union has launched investigations into tech giants Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Apple, and Meta, alleging the companies failed to comply with new antitrust laws set by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
In a press release published today, the European Commission announced it has opened noncompliance investigations against these three companies. Specifically, it is probing “Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.”
More interestingly, the regulator revealed it was taking “investigatory steps” to examine Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores, and Amazon’s “ranking practices on its marketplace.”
The #DMA has been in place for 18 days and we’ve witnessed more change from Big Tech than in the past 10 years.
But we want to make sure everything is done by the book 🇪🇺
Opening cases today against:
🔹Alphabet
🔹Apple
🔹Metahttps://t.co/qJ1QJO0zwO pic.twitter.com/dEfnyACJ0V— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) March 25, 2024
“[W]e 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,’ EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton wrote in a statement. “Should our investigation conclude that there is lack of full compliance with the DMA, gatekeepers could face heavy fines.”
If the investigation concludes and the EU finds any or all of these companies are noncompliant, the EU will impose a fine of up to 10% of the company’s total revenue. The EU revealed that the fines could go up to 20% for “repeated infringement.”
As a refresher, DMA is a new regulation that took effect late last year. Earlier this month, these companies had a deadline to comply with the new antitrust laws. This new regulation is part of the EU’s effort to rein in the perceived dominance and alleged anti-competitive practices of major players in big tech. The EU designated over 20 companies, including those mentioned above, as “gatekeepers” that needed to adjust their policies to comply with the EU.
Essentially, the law exists to make the digital sector more fair and competitive; a clear example of these new laws include Epic Games and Microsoft announcing plans to launch their own third-party app stores within the App Store and Google Play. Another example of the DMA is that it would provide customers the option to change default apps and uninstall gatekeeper pre-installed apps, such as allowing a Windows computer owner to have the option to uninstall Microsoft Edge or Bing from their device.
The announcement itself follows additional legal issues and criticism Apple is currently facing. Last Friday, the United States Department of Justice announced it was suing the tech giant, alleging the company violated multiple antitrust laws and that its tactics harmed developers and consumers.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.