LONDON (AP) — Europeans scrolling through their phones and computers this week will have new choices about their default browser and search engine, where they download iPhone apps and how their personal online data is used. .
These are some of the changes required under the Digital Markets Act, which classifies six tech companies as “gatekeepers” including Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance. Must comply with a series of European Union regulations. by midnight Wednesday.
The DMA is the latest in a series of regulations that Europe has passed as a world leader in curbing the dominance of big tech companies. Tech giants are responding by changing some of the long-standing ways they do business, such as allowing Apple to install smartphone apps outside of the App Store.
The new rules have a broad but vague goal of making digital markets “fairer” and “more competitive,” and come as efforts around the world to crack down on the tech industry gather momentum. There is.
Let's take a look at how the Digital Markets Act works.
What companies must follow the rules?
Approximately 22 services will be subject to the DMA, ranging from operating systems to messenger apps to social media platforms.
These include Google services such as Maps, YouTube, the Chrome browser, and the Android operating system, as well as Amazon's Marketplace, Apple's Safari browser, and iOS.
This includes Microsoft's Windows and LinkedIn, as well as Meta's Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Repeat violations can result in high fines of up to 20% of global annual revenue for these companies (which can reach billions of dollars), or business closures for “systematic infringement.” There is even a fear that it will be divided.
What impact will this rule have globally?
The Digital Markets Act marks another milestone for the 27-nation European Union in its long-standing role as a global trendsetter regulating the technology industry.
The bloc has previously imposed huge fines on Google for antitrust violations, introduced strict rules to clean up social media, and introduced the world's first regulations on artificial intelligence.
Currently, countries such as Japan, the UK, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Brazil and India have developed their own versions of DMA-like rules aimed at preventing technology companies from dominating their digital markets.
“We're already seeing counterfeit products around the world,” said Bill Echikson, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based think tank. The DMA “will become the de facto standard” for digital regulation in the democratic world, he said.
Zak Myers, deputy director of the Center for European Reform, a think tank in London, said authorities would look to Brussels for guidance.
“If it works, many Western countries will probably try to follow the DMA, to avoid fragmentation and the risk of taking a different approach that might fail,” he said.
How will app downloads change?
In one of the biggest changes, Apple announced that iPhone users in Europe will be able to download apps from sources other than the App Store installed on their mobile devices.
The company has long resisted such moves, and the bulk of its revenue comes from the 30% fee it charges for payments made through its iOS apps, such as Disney+ subscriptions. Apple has warned that “sideloading” apps comes with additional security risks.
Apple is currently reducing the fees it collects from European app developers who choose to remain within the company's payment processing system. But because it adds a 50 euro cents fee to each iOS app installed through a third-party app store, critics say this will reduce the cost of many existing free apps (developers currently don't pay the fee). It is argued that this will prevent the rapid growth of
“Why would they choose a world where they have to pay 50 cents per user?” said Avery Gardiner, Spotify's global director of competition policy. “As a result, these alternative app stores will never gain traction because they will miss the huge number of apps that need to be there for customers to find the store attractive.”
“That is completely contrary to the very purpose of the DMA,” Gardiner added.
The city of Brussels will be subject to intense scrutiny of tech companies' compliance.
“I have seen quite a lot of antitrust cases, and there is a lot of creativity in how to get around the rules we set,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said this week after 10 years on the job. I've seen it incorporated,” he said.
How do people get more choice online?
Consumers are not forced to make default choices for key services.
Android users can choose which search engine to use by default, while iPhone users can choose which browser to rely on. Europeans' devices will see a selection screen. Meanwhile, Microsoft plans to stop forcing people to use its Edge browser.
The aim is to prevent people from being lured into using Apple's Safari browser or Google's Search app. But small businesses remain concerned that the situation could be worse than before.
Christian Kroll, CEO of Berlin-based search engine Ecosia, said users may stick with what they perceive because they don't know anything about other options. Ta.
Ecosia has called on Apple and Google to include more information about competing services on their selection screens.
“If people don't know what the alternatives are, it's pretty unlikely that many people will choose them,” Kroll says. “I'm a big fan of DMA. I don't know yet if it will give us the results we're hoping for.”
How will internet searches change?
Some Google search results will appear differently because the DMA prohibits companies from prioritizing their own services.
So when you search for a hotel, for example, you'll now see an additional “carousel” of booking sites like Expedia. Meanwhile, the Google Flights button in search results has been removed and sites will now appear among blue links on search results pages.
Users also have the option to opt out of targeted ad profiling based on their online activities.
Google users now have the option to stop sharing data between the company's services to better target ads.
Meta allows users to separate their Facebook and Instagram accounts, and personal information is never combined for ad targeting.
DMA also requires that messaging systems be able to interact with each other. Meta, which owns only two chat apps that fall under the rule, is expected to offer suggestions on how Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp users can exchange text messages, videos and images.
