Commission Opens First Digital Markets Act Investigations Into Alphabet, Apple and Meta

The Commission announcement came less than three weeks after 7 March 2024, the date by which the six gatekeepers designated in September 2023 had to comply fully with the DMA. Those gatekeepers, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, were designated by the Commission on 6 September 2023 for 22 core platform services and given six months to comply.

What the Commission is investigating

There are five sets of proceedings. Two concern Alphabet's and Apple's rules on steering in Google Play and the App Store: Article 5(4) of the DMA requires gatekeepers to let app developers steer consumers to offers outside the app store free of charge, and the Commission is concerned that restrictions and charges limit developers' ability to communicate and promote offers and conclude contracts directly. A third examines whether Alphabet's display of Google search results favours its own vertical services, such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels, contrary to Article 6(5).

The fourth looks at Apple's compliance with Article 6(3), including how easily users can uninstall apps, change default settings and choose an alternative browser or search engine through choice screens. The fifth examines whether Meta's pay or consent model for users in the EU satisfies Article 5(2), which requires consent before personal data is combined or cross-used across core platform services.

Further steps

The Commission also began investigatory steps on Amazon's possible preferencing of its own brand products on the Amazon Store and on Apple's new fee structure for alternative app stores and distribution of apps from the web. It adopted retention orders requiring Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft to preserve documents, and granted Meta a six-month extension to comply with the interoperability obligation for Facebook Messenger.

What happens next

The Commission intends to conclude the Digital Markets Act investigations within 12 months. If an infringement is found, it can impose fines of up to 10% of a company's total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% for repeated infringements, and in cases of systematic non-compliance it can adopt additional remedies, including requiring a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it.

Sources

• European Commission: Commission opens non-compliance investigations against Alphabet, Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act
• European Commission: Digital Markets Act, Commission designates six gatekeepers