Digital Markets Act (DMA)

Full name: Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act)

(Link to original text)

Type: Regulation

Objective and key elements:

• Ensure fair and contestable digital markets in the EU – a level playing field
• Enables the Commission to designate companies that provide a core platform service which is an important gateway for business users to reach end users, have a durable position and a significant impact on the internal market as “gatekeepers” (in practice “big tech”)
• Include dos and don’ts for gatekeepers to inter alia:
  1. 1. prevent them imposing unfair conditions on businesses and end users and ensuring the openness of important digital services;
     2. allow businesses to have access to more information on how their products or services are performing on third party platforms;
     3. prevent unfair ranking of gatekeepers' own services and products compared to those offered by other businesses on the same platform: and
     4. prevent consumer lock-in

Relevant to: Gatekeepers providing core platform services and anyone using or competing with such services.

Status: In force and fully applicable since 6 February 2024.

Gatekeepers and core platform services:

• List of currently designated gatekeepers is available here
• Core platform services are defined as:

1. 1. online intermediation services;
   2. online search engines;
   3. online social networking services;
   4. video-sharing platform services;
   5. number-independent interpersonal communications services;
   6. operating systems;
   7. web browsers;
   8. virtual assistants;
   9. cloud computing services;
   10. online advertising services, including any advertising networks, advertising exchanges and any other advertising intermediation services, provided by an undertaking that provides any of the core platform services listed in points (a) to (i)

Hannes Snellman blog posts:

• The EU Digital Markets Act – What Is Different Compared to the EU Competition Law Rules and What Are the Anticipated Impacts on Companies and Consumers? (published 15 November 2023)

Guidance:

• European Commission: DMA - Questions and Answers

(Last updated 30 September 2024)

Implemented in Finland as: Laki Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirastosta 30.11.2012/661, luku 1b

Status: In force.

Supervisory authority: The European Commission is the sole authority empowered to enforce the DMA, but the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority as the national competent authority can conduct investigations in order to support the Commission and is the national coordinating authority.

(Last updated 23 September 2024)