Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, ByteDance, and Samsung must comply with the Digital Markets Act by March 6th, 2024.
As per Reuters, five major U.S. tech firms have agreed that they meet the European Union’s (EU) criteria of «gatekeeper» which means that they are subject to tougher rules. The U.S. tech companies that are gatekeepers include Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook-parent Meta, and Microsoft. Also considered to be gatekeeper companies in the EU are Samsung and TikTok parent ByteDance. The latter firm didn’t agree that it belonged in this classification. Online travel agency Booking.com said that it will be considered a gatekeeper tech firm next year.Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Samsung and ByteDance are considered gatekeepers under the DMA
The reason why it is important whether or not a company is classified as a gatekeeper has to do with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) which took effect in November. Under the terms of the DMA, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market cap of 75 billion euro ($82 billion) and higher are gatekeepers. As such, the DMA requires these firms to allow their messaging apps to work with rival messaging platforms, and allow consumers to decide which apps will be pre-installed on their devices.
