Digital Markets Act, all EU accusations against Apple, Meta and Google
Apple, Meta and Google, three of the largest Big Techs, risk record fines of up to 10% of their total turnover for possible violations of the Digital Markets Act. Here's why and what the figures are
Have Apple, Meta and Google violated the Digital Markets Act (DMA), i.e. the law on digital markets created by the European Union to stem abuses and limit the dominant positions of Big Tech? According to Brussels it is probable and for this reason it has launched an investigation .
Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, are accused of favoring their own app stores – namely Google Play for Android and App Store for iPhone – and Meta of using users' personal data for advertising purposes.
But no one is safe and not even Amazon, ByteDance and Microsoft, the other three gatekeepers that the EU Commission has identified as important access points between businesses and consumers in relation to digital services, can breathe a sigh of relief. The proceedings started yesterday, and which should be concluded within 12 months, do not mean that others will not be involved.
Furthermore, the fines in the event of infringement of the DMA promise to be decidedly high: up to 10% of the company's total turnover at a global level, which can rise to 20% in the event of a repeated violation.
THE FIVE CHARGES
Starting from reports on compliance with the Digital Markets Act, the Commission suspects that the measures implemented by Apple, Meta and Alphabet to comply with the legislation are not sufficient to comply with their obligations.
The critical issues identified so far by Brussels concern five services: the steering and self-preferencing systems on Google Play and Google Search, Apple's rules regarding steering in the App Store and on the choice screen of Safari and the “pay or consent ” model of Meta.
Furthermore, in the name of competition rules, the rule requires companies to allow the applications they host on their app stores to redirect consumers to other domains for free. However, both Alphabet and Apple appear to impose “various restrictions and limitations.”
THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ALPHABET (GOOGLE)
Alphabet, in particular, is under suspicion for possible infringements in the management of the algorithm for displaying search results. Indeed, Brussels wants to ascertain whether the display of Google search results leads to self-referentiality with regard to its vertical search services, such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels compared to similar services from competitors.
THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST APPLE
The Cupertino company will instead have to demonstrate that it has provided users with the ability to easily uninstall all software applications on iOS and also to easily change the default settings on its operating system.
Brussels is also investigating Apple's new pricing structure for alternative app stores and the distribution of apps from the web.
THE ACCUSATIONS IN META
As regards Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, the EU Commission has initiated proceedings to verify whether the "pay or consent" model recently introduced for EU users complies with the DMA article which requires gatekeepers to obtain user consent when they intend to combine or cross-use their personal data between the different services of the main platform.
The Commission is concerned that the binary choice imposed by the model does not provide a real alternative in case users do not consent, thus contravening the objective of preventing the accumulation of personal data by gatekeepers.
WILL AMAZON BE NEXT?
But even in the Seattle area they could be on tenterhooks over the ongoing investigations in the Old Continent because the EU Commission is moving to ensure that Amazon does not favor products with its own brand on the Amazon Store.
THE SANCTIONS
As anticipated, if the accusations of violation of the Digital Markets Act were confirmed, companies would face fines equal to 10% of total turnover, which could double to 20% in the event of repeated violations.
To get an idea of the numbers, last year Alphabet had revenue of $307.4 billion , Apple $383 billion , and Meta more than $134 billion .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/digital-markets-act-tutte-le-accuse-dellue-a-apple-meta-e-google/ on Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:58:37 +0000.