BRUSSELS— The European Union has launch an open investigation in Apple, Meta and Google parent Alphabet under its new sweeping digital-competition law. This adds regulatory scrutiny large U.S. tech companies are facing worldwide.
The first set of investigations under the EU’s Digital Markets Act law, which went into effect earlier this month, were reveal’s on Monday. Less than a week has passed since the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple on the grounds that it makes it harder for rivals to integrate with the iPhone, which drives up prices for consumers.
What is Digital Markets Act Law?
“The EU passed the Digital Markets Act to increase market competition and fairness in the digital industry. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) establishes a set of precisely defined objective criteria to identify “gatekeepers” in order to accomplish this. App stores, messenger services, and internet search engines are examples of “core platform services” offers by gatekeepers, which are sizable digital platforms. The DMA’s list of dos and don’ts, or obligations and prohibitions, must be follow by gatekeepers. One of the first legislative instruments to fully control the gatekeeper authority of the biggest digital firms is the DMA. The EU competition laws remain fully applicable and are supplemented by the DMA, which does not alter them.
Apple, Meta & Google Investigation
EU regulators will now be examining how Google and Apple are adhering to regulations requiring them to permit app developers to notify users about substitute offers found outside of their primary app stores. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, expressed concern about the restrictions tech companies impose on developers’ freedom to interact with users and advertise their products.
The bloc will also look into modifications made by Google to the way its search results show up in Europe. Companies are prohibited from favoring their own services over comparable services provided by competitors, according to the new digital competition law.
Another investigation will focus on Apple’s compliance with guidelines dictating that users ought to have easy access to remove apps and modify default settings on their iPhones, as well as how the company presents choice screens with alternate browser and search engine options.
The EU also says that it would look into Meta’s “pay or consent” plan, which was unveil last autumn. According to that plan, users in Europe will have to pay a monthly subscription fee of up to approximately $11 if they don’t want the company to use their digital activity to target the ads that appear on Facebook and Instagram.
A new law from the European Union went into effect earlier this month, requiring some of the biggest tech companies in the world to abide by a lengthy list of new regulations designed to increase competition from smaller businesses in the areas of app ecosystems, online search, and digital advertising. In a series of workshops held in Brussels last week, companies started presenting their compliance plans to regulators, app developers, and competing businesses.
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