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New EU laws will require major tech companies, including Apple and Google, to make significant changes to their business operations in order to comply and generate substantial revenue.
Services such as Amazon’s marketplace, Apple’s AppStore, Meta’s WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, and Google’s Search and YouTube will all need to adhere to the new regulations, which are designed to promote competition in the European tech sector.
The Digital Markets Act will impose obligations on six companies, including Microsoft and TikTok, which include sharing data with competitors, making services interoperable with rival apps, and providing links to competitors.
The European Commission is currently evaluating whether to designate Apple’s iMessage and Microsoft’s Bing as “gatekeeper” services. This decision is being contested by the companies in question.
To be considered a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act, tech giants must meet certain criteria, such as annual turnover exceeding €7.5 billion, a market cap above €75 billion, and at least 45 million active monthly users in the EU. However, EU regulators have some discretion in applying these requirements.
Some companies have raised objections to the inclusion of certain services under the Digital Markets Act. Microsoft, for example, does not believe Bing should be subject to the same obligations as its larger competitor, Google Search. Similarly, Apple argues that iMessage does not meet the necessary criteria and should be exempt from the new rules.
The European Commission anticipates legal challenges from these tech companies regarding the new obligations. Amazon and Zalando have already taken legal action against Brussels over their obligations under the Digital Services Act, a separate legislation focused on regulating Big Tech’s role in policing the internet. These companies argue that they have been unfairly targeted.
The announcement of the services affected by the new rules coincided with Margrethe Vestager’s candidacy for the presidency of the European Investment Bank. Meanwhile, Belgian commissioner Didier Reynders will take over Vestager’s competition portfolio while she takes unpaid leave from the commission.
The increased scrutiny of tech companies in Europe comes at a time when Vestager has threatened to break up Google, marking a significant development. Additionally, the EU is poised to block Booking’s acquisition of Etraveli as regulators closely examine digital deals.
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