🔜From 7 March, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will come into force in the EU, changing the rules for large platforms. WhatsApp will have to interact with other chat services, and Apple will allow iPhone users to download apps from other app stores. The DMA is expected to create more competition by introducing rules for the so-called “gatekeepers” in order to break up the market position of large platforms.
🤔𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱?
The EU Commission identified 22 gatekeeper services from six companies, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook).
🤳𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽:
Messages from other services should end up in a separate area to indicate different security standards. Whatsapp uses Signal’s encryption technology, which makes integration with other services easier.📱𝗔𝗽𝗽-𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲:
App developers have two options: Either continue to use Apple’s App Store and pay a 15 or 30 per cent levy, or switch to new terms with lower fees of 10 or 17 per cent plus 3 per cent when using Apple’s billing system.🌐𝗔𝗽𝗽-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿:
Epic Games is planning its own iPhone download platform after Fortnite was banned from the App Store. Setapp, a subscription app marketplace, is also planning to launch in April. Spotify and Epic sharply criticise the new rules.
🙅♀️𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀:
Spotify criticises the new fee structure and the core technology levy as not DMA-compliant. Epic and Spotify also criticise that the new fees could prevent developers from distributing their apps via other stores.
🚫𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀:
The EU Commission can impose fines of up to 10 per cent of annual turnover for violations. Repeated violations could even be penalised with up to 20 percent. As a last resort, there is the option of breaking up the company, which could ultimately be decided by the courts