BRUSSELS – After three months of negotiations, the Council and Parliament have reached a significant agreement on a legislative proposal that will regulate the activities of the large internet platforms. The aim is to ensure free competition upstream, rather than being forced – as the EU executive has done in recent years – to chase industrial operations to verify that they were in line with European antitrust rules.
The Digital Markets Act, as it is called in English, requires the largest internet platforms to comply with about twenty rules in order to avoid abuses of dominant position (see Il Sole 24 Ore of 16 December 2020). Among other things, purchasing operations will be monitored with particular attention as well as situations in which companies favor their services to the detriment of the competition – the most striking case is that of Google in favor of Google Shopping.
“The agreement ushers in a new era of technology regulation worldwide. The law on digital markets puts an end to the ever-growing dominance of large technology companies, ”said German people’s deputy Andreas Schwab, rapporteur of the text. “In the face of large online platforms that behave as if they are ‘too big to worry’, Europe has put its foot down,” commented Single Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The legislative text will prohibit the use of the data accumulated on the websites for the exclusive use of the platform. Not only. You will not be able to use customer data for advertising purposes without the consent of the individuals. The platforms will not be able to impose their own applications on phones and computers. Alternative products will need to be available. In the negotiations, Parliament imposed interoperability between messaging systems (for example Signal and WhatsApp).
Finally, the Digital Markets Act requires a free choice in the use of portals that allow you to download particular applications. In other words, it will be possible not to be forced to use the Apple Store, for example. The text, which is expected to go into effect in January 2023, applies to the largest platforms: Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft and more. The criteria are based on the market capitalization, the number of users and the amount of turnover.