Initially, the European Commission designated six tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) as gatekeepers across 22 services, and these services were required to comply with DMA regulations beginning March 7, 2024. Subsequently, the Commission added Apple’s iPad OS on April 29, 2024 and Booking.com on May 13, 2024, with each having six months from the date of designation to comply.
Since the initial March compliance deadline, the Commission has already opened non-compliance investigations into Alphabet, Apple and Meta, with more likely to come. If a company is found to be in violation of the DMA, it could be subject to fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue, increasing to up to 20% for repeat offenses.
While the ongoing investigations may mandate additional modifications, the initial gatekeepers have already enacted numerous changes. For example, ByteDance’s TikTok launched a Data Portability API for developers; Apple added over 600 new APIs, added distribution and payment options for developers, and made changes to iOS, Safari and the Apple App Store in the EU; Google has made changes to search results, launched consent banners for sharing data across Google services, and added search engine/browser choice screens, to name a few.
