DIGITAL
MARKETS ACT - INTERNATIONAL
News:
EU to investigate Apple,
Google, Meta under new digital law
What's
in the news?
●
The European
Union is investigating Apple, Google, and Meta for potential violations of
the new Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the power of big tech companies
and create a more level playing field for smaller businesses.
Digital
Markets Act (DMA):
●
The DMA is a groundbreaking European law
aiming to prevent large online platforms
that connect consumers with content, goods, and services from abusing their
market power.
Aim:
●
It aims to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector.
●
It also aims to challenge the power of the
tech giants by making it easier for people to move between competing online
services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores.
Features:
●
It regulates gatekeepers, which are large
digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and
consumers, whose position can grant them the power to create a bottleneck in
the digital economy.
●
The DMA had designated six ‘gatekeepers’: Alphabet, Amazon,
Apple, ByteDance (proprietors of TikTok), Meta and Microsoft.
●
Violations could result in fines of as
much as 10% of the corporations’ global annual turnover.
Significance:
●
The European Commission believes that
keeping the big internet companies in check can lead to more competition and
choice, greater innovation, better quality and lower prices.
Go
back to basics:
Gatekeepers:
Gatekeepers in the
digital world are large online platforms
that:
●
Possess a strong economic position and
significant impact across multiple EU countries.
●
Act as crucial intermediaries, connecting
a vast number of users and businesses.
●
Have a stable, enduring market presence,
demonstrated over the past three years.