[updated version of an article initially published on 28 March 2022]
On 12 October 2022, the Digital Markets Act or DMA was published in the Official Journal of the EU (new Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828). You can find the text of the Digital Markets Act here.
Together with the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act forms one of the legislative proposals of the European Commission aimed at developing a fair, safe, accountable and open European digital market. The DMA introduces new rules for large online platforms acting as “gatekeepers”, i.e. large systemic online platforms with a dominant market position which serve as an intermediary connecting businesses and consumers for certain digital services (e.g. search engines, social networks, intermediation services and operating systems).
The DMA lays down new rules, obligations and prohibitions for gatekeepers in order to create a fair online market, safeguard competition online and protect consumers. The rules also include provisions on the usage, combination and portability of data. In addition, the DMA contains new sanction mechanisms for the Commission, including the possibility of imposing substantial fines in case of non-compliance with the DMA (fines up to 10% of the total turnover in the preceding year).
The DMA enters into force on 1 November 2022, 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal, and will become applicable on 2 May 2023, six months after the entry into force. The designation of the first organisations as "gatekeepers" is expected for mid-2023.
