EU targets Big Tech 'gatekeeper' platforms

As lawmakers scramble in the United States to regulate homegrown technology giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook, Europe is moving fast on rules that may shape the future of innovation here and around the world.

In the last several weeks, the European Council and the European Parliament moved one step closer to an unprecedented regulatory regime that would require so-called digital gatekeeper platforms to surrender critical competitive advantages to their rivals. The targeted firms are companies with market capitalizations of at least $82.6 billion or $8.26 billion in revenues. The rules apply to providers of at least one “core platform service” and have a minimum of 45 million monthly users in the European Union. Called the Digital Markets Act, the suite of regulations may be European in origin. Still, most of its most prominent targets are American providers of “core” services, including online advertising, search engines, social media, messaging, and more. The U.S. is home to half of the 10 most prominent tech companies globally. The EU is home to none.

While the law, known as the DMA, is awaiting final approval from the European Parliament and the European Union’s 27 member states, it is considered in Brussels almost certain to pass. European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager told reporters she expects the law to be in place by October. At that time, companies will have to prove compliance ongoing.