Because Brussels surrounds Booking.com and pinches X
The EU also included Booking.com among the "gatekeepers" under the Digital Markets Act and at the same time launched a market investigation into X (formerly Twitter). All the details
Booking.com will have to comply with stricter rules in the European Union.
The European Commission has designated the Dutch online travel giant as a gatekeeper for its online intermediation service Booking.com and has decided not to designate X Ads and TikTok Ads, the advertising services provided by X and TikTok respectively. The Brussels executive announced this today. The "gatekeepers", i.e. the large online platforms, are subject to particular constraints according to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The latter imposes more restrictive rules for companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and 75 billion euros in market capitalization as gatekeepers.
The travel booking company thus joins the list of six market "gatekeepers" who must comply with the DMA designated by the EU: Alphabet, parent company of Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance, owner of TikTok.
Booking.com, whose parent company Booking Holdings is based in the United States, now has six months to prepare for compliance with the European standard.
At the same time, the Brussels Commission launched a market investigation to evaluate the X dossier.
The investigation is expected to conclude within five months.
All the details.
BOOKING DESIGNATED AS GATEKEEPER UNDER THE DMA
So, as already mentioned, Booking has six months to submit a detailed compliance report describing how it complies with each of the legal obligations. However, some of these come into force with immediate effect, for example the obligation to inform the Commission of any proposed concentration in the digital sector.
AT RISK OF A FINE IN CASE OF NON-COMPLIANCE
In the event that a gatekeeper does not comply with its obligations, the Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company's total worldwide turnover, which can reach up to 20% in the case of repeated violations. In case of systematic violations, the Commission also has the power to adopt additional remedies, such as forcing a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it or prohibiting the gatekeeper from acquiring additional services related to systemic non-compliance.
THE LOCATION OF BRUSSELS
“The good news today is that holidaymakers will start to benefit from more choice and hotels will have more business opportunities,” said European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
AND THAT OF BOOKING.COM
Booking.com said it had started negotiations with the Commission before the EU decision.
“We will continue to work constructively with them as we develop solutions to comply,” the company added in a statement.
NO MORE RULES FOR X ADS AND TIKTOK ADS
Today's decisions follow a review process conducted by the Commission after receiving notifications from the three companies regarding their potential gatekeeper status on 1 March 2024. Based on the self-assessment submitted by Booking on 1 March 2024 and certifying compliance with the relevant thresholds, the Commission has determined that this core platform service constitutes an important gateway between businesses and consumers.
THE INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED ON X
At the same time, the Brussels Executive has launched a market investigation to further evaluate the complaint filed on 1 March 2024 in relation to the online social networking service
X ADS AND TIKTOK ADS FREE FROM THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE DMA
Another complaint has been filed regarding the online advertising service X Ads. The Commission concluded that, although X Ads meets the quantitative designation thresholds required by EU law, this core platform service does not qualify as a major gateway. The Commission therefore decided not to designate X Ads.
Finally, on 1 March 2024 the Commission received the notification of ByteDance's online advertising service TikTok Ads, including a challenge request. The Commission concluded that, although TikTok Ads meets the quantitative designation thresholds, this core platform service does not qualify as a major gateway. As a result, the Commission decided not to designate TikTok Ads either.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-bruxelles-accerchia-booking-com-e-pizzica-x/ on Mon, 13 May 2024 14:32:16 +0000.