What the Digital Markets Act says
Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2025 9:18 am
The aim of the DMA, or Digital Markets Act, is to prevent the abuse of dominant market power by the so-called “gatekeepers”, which are the largest platforms in the online world, including Google, and to establish fair competition. It is to achieve this through a number of regulations, the most important of which are:
No prioritization: a measure preventing “gatekeepers” from displaying their own services at the top of searches. Specifically, Google will no longer be able to prioritize, for example, Google Hotels or Google Flights at the expense of competing companies providing accommodation reservations or selling airline tickets.
Severe fines for violations: Companies that fail to fantuan data comply with the DMA rules face heavy penalties, up to 10% of their total turnover for the relevant year. Further fines follow for repeated violations of the law. In the case of global giant Google, this could be up to billions of dollars.
The Digital Markets Act also addresses other less-than-clean practices by gatekeepers, such as restricting app developers from using their platform, incomplete data provision, or inconspicuous bundling of services. Eliminating these is intended to create a level playing field for all, so that even smaller companies can compete equally in the digital market.
Google has announced that it accepts and complies with the new law, but given the scope of its operations, it will have to make quite significant adjustments to its operations in the market to comply with all the rules. Only time will tell whether the regulation will actually lead to a reduction in Google's dominance or will simply create further obstacles for its competitors.
No prioritization: a measure preventing “gatekeepers” from displaying their own services at the top of searches. Specifically, Google will no longer be able to prioritize, for example, Google Hotels or Google Flights at the expense of competing companies providing accommodation reservations or selling airline tickets.
Severe fines for violations: Companies that fail to fantuan data comply with the DMA rules face heavy penalties, up to 10% of their total turnover for the relevant year. Further fines follow for repeated violations of the law. In the case of global giant Google, this could be up to billions of dollars.
The Digital Markets Act also addresses other less-than-clean practices by gatekeepers, such as restricting app developers from using their platform, incomplete data provision, or inconspicuous bundling of services. Eliminating these is intended to create a level playing field for all, so that even smaller companies can compete equally in the digital market.
Google has announced that it accepts and complies with the new law, but given the scope of its operations, it will have to make quite significant adjustments to its operations in the market to comply with all the rules. Only time will tell whether the regulation will actually lead to a reduction in Google's dominance or will simply create further obstacles for its competitors.