EU launches investigation into Apple, Google, Meta violating digital market laws

Author: Savannah Fortis, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

The European Commission announced that according to its The Digital Markets Act (DMA) launches a violation investigation into the conduct of Apple, Meta, Amazon and Google parent company Alphabet.

According to a statement released on March 25, "The Commission suspects that the measures they have taken have not effectively fulfilled their obligations under the DMA."

< span style="font-size: 14px;">Source: The European Commission

More specifically, the EU antitrust regulator targeted Alphabet's "guidance" in the Google Play Store "Rules and self-preference on Google Search, Apple's guidance rules in the App Store and Safari's selection screen, and Meta's "pay or consent" model."

In addition, the committee stated that it is studying and working with Apple Measures related to new fee structures for alternative app stores and Amazon's ranking practices on its marketplace.

It ordered the companies to retain specific documents to monitor the "effective implementation and compliance" of their obligations.

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The proceedings will have 12 months to conclude and if infringement occurs, the commission could impose fines of up to 10% of the company's total global turnover.

It said systemic infringement The "gatekeeper" may be forced to sell part of the company or be barred from receiving additional services.

European Union The DMA is a piece of legislation designed to create "contestable" and fair markets in the digital sector.

It is supposed to act as a regulator of "gatekeepers", which it defines as "large digital platforms that provide important gateways between business users and consumers, with a status that gives them a role in the digital economy" The power to create bottlenecks. ”

According to the committee, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Word TikTok (TikTok's parent company), Meta and Microsoft have been designated as the six gatekeepers of the DMA.

These companies have until March 7 to fully comply with the DMA requirements .

The latest investigation follows a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) against Apple on March 21, claiming that its app market rules and "monopolies" illegally restrict competition and stifle innovation.

It also claims that Apple has a monopoly in the smartphone market and "locks out developers and users on its platform by 'forcing' developers to use its payment system." ”