The Digital Markets Act (DMA): Europe’s Competition Law Revolution for Big Tech

Introduction: From Enforcement to Ex-Ante Regulation

For over a decade, the European Commission has investigated and fined tech giants like Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon for abusing market dominance. But enforcement under traditional competition law was often reactive, slow, and insufficient to prevent lasting harm.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), fully in force as of March 2024, changes that. Instead of case-by-case antitrust investigations, the DMA introduces ex-ante regulation: a set of preemptive rules that certain powerful platforms—dubbed “gatekeepers”—must follow to ensure fair competition and innovation in digital markets.

This landmark law doesn’t just regulate—it reshapes the legal and economic playing field for the digital economy in the EU and potentially beyond.

Who Are Gatekeepers?

The DMA applies to core platform services operated by companies that act as systemic intermediaries between businesses and users. These services include:

• Search engines

• App stores

• Social networks

• Operating systems

• Online marketplaces

• Web browsers

• Virtual assistants

• Cloud services

A company qualifies as a gatekeeper if it:

• Has a market capitalization of €75 billion+ or annual turnover of €7.5 billion+,

• Serves at least 45 million monthly active end users and 10,000 business users in the EU,

• Controls one or more core platform services in at least three Member States.

In 2023, the Commission designated six gatekeepers: Alphabet (Google), Apple, Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Microsoft, and ByteDance (TikTok).

What Gatekeepers Must Do—and Must Not Do

The DMA imposes clear obligations that gatekeepers must comply with by default. These fall into two categories:

Obligations to Ensure Fairness and Access

• Allow business users to access data generated through their interactions on the platform,

• Permit app developers to use third-party payment systems (Apple and Google must now open up),

• Allow users to uninstall preinstalled apps and change defaults easily,

• Ensure interoperability with messaging services upon request.

Prohibited Practices

Gatekeepers must not:

• Rank their own services more favorably than those of rivals (self-preferencing),

• Prevent users from accessing outside offers (e.g., cheaper prices on other websites),

• Combine personal data from different services without explicit consent,

• Make it difficult to unsubscribe or switch platforms.

Failure to comply can result in fines of up to 10% of global turnover—or 20% for repeated infringements.

Supervision and Enforcement by the European Commission

Unlike GDPR, which is enforced by national authorities, the DMA is centrally enforced by the European Commission.

The Commission has the power to:

• Conduct dawn raids and request internal documents,

• Issue interim measures or compliance orders,

• Launch market investigations into emerging gatekeepers or systemic risks.

Importantly, the DMA is self-executing: gatekeepers must comply without waiting for specific enforcement actions. This proactive model aims to prevent harm before it occurs, rather than punishing it after the fact.

Impact on Businesses, Developers, and Consumers

The DMA is a game-changer for:

• App developers and startups, who now have a more level playing field,

• Competing services, who can challenge dominant platforms with greater access and fairness,

• Consumers, who benefit from more choice, transparency, and control.

For example, Android users can now select their preferred search engine and browser more easily. App developers may offer in-app purchases without being forced to pay platform commissions. And merchants on marketplaces can better access customer data and communication tools.

The ripple effect of these rules may also influence non-gatekeeper companies and global platform design, especially in countries considering similar reforms (e.g., Japan, India, UK).

Challenges and Gatekeeper Pushback

Gatekeepers have responded with:

• Legal challenges before the General Court of the EU, contesting gatekeeper status and specific obligations,

• Technical changes that comply with the letter of the law while arguably undermining its spirit,

• Lobbying efforts to shape enforcement guidelines and implementation.

The Commission, meanwhile, has launched early investigations into Apple’s App Store, Google's self-preferencing, and Meta’s “pay or consent” ad model, showing it intends to enforce robustly.

Observers will be watching closely to see whether the DMA can withstand legal pressure, adapt to platform innovation, and avoid regulatory capture.

Conclusion: Europe's Digital Antitrust Era Begins

The Digital Markets Act is one of the most ambitious attempts globally to rein in Big Tech through law. It combines traditional competition goals—market fairness, innovation, and consumer protection—with new tools for a digital economy dominated by ecosystems, data, and algorithms.

Its success will depend on:

• Effective and timely enforcement by the Commission,

• Cooperation and pressure from civil society, business users, and consumers,

• Judicial clarity from the EU courts on fundamental questions of digital competition.

But if it succeeds, the DMA could serve as a blueprint for digital regulation worldwide—a signal that democratic societies can set the terms for how powerful platforms operate.