As a result of the EU’s Digital Markets Act ( DMA ), Apple has joined Meta and TikTok owner ByteDance in challenging the definitions of their platforms. The law gives regulators the authority to refer to the goods or platforms of dominant companies as “gatekeepers” or as being large and potent enough to cause a bottleneck between companies and customers. Currently, it focuses on 22 gatekeeper services provided by six major tech firms, including TikTok from ByteDance, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, Meta, and Amazon. The law promotes consumer-friendly competition and forbids companies from treating customers unfairly.
Apple has joined Meta and ByteDance in challenging the EU Court of Justice’s rulings, according to a post made on X Friday by Reuters about the official objection. Bloomberg News reported last week that Apple would contest the App Store’s gatekeeper designation, though the specifics of the complaint are not made public. This week, the company announced that it would soon support RCS on iPhone, potentially ending one of the EU’s objections to iMessage consumer lock-in.
According to reports, Meta and ByteDance disputed Microsoft and Google’s DMA designations while they accepted theirs. Meta specifically questioned the gatekeeper labels for Marketplace and Messenger in an effort to understand their inclusion. ( Meta did n’t object to the inclusion of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. ) According to the company, Messenger is a Facebook chat feature, not an online middleman, and Marketplace is consumer-to-consumer service.
Meanwhile, ByteDance contends that TikTok is n’t a seasoned gatekeeper but rather an innovator in the social market. It asserted that naming its platform “platform” would only serve to safeguard more well-known businesses.
The DMA has a lot of teeth, just like the Digital Services Act ( DSA ). Companies that do n’t comply risk fines of up to 10 % of their global turnover, 20 % for repeat offenders, and 5 % of the average daily turnover as well as ongoing penalties. Following market investigations, additional penalties, such as the sale of a company’s assets, might be added.