Members' Research Service By / May 6, 2021

Digital markets act [EU Legislation in Progress]

Whereas online platforms – such as social media and e-commerce platforms – play an increasingly important role in people’s social and economic lives, current EU rules on digital services date back two decades and have remained largely unchanged since the adoption of the e Commerce Directive in 2000 (Directive 2000/31/EC).

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Written by Tambiama Madiega (3rd edition, updated on 23.11.2022).

EU lawmakers signed a regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector, otherwise referred to as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), in September 2022. The DMA was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 October 2022 and entered into force on 1 November 2022. The new legislation lays down harmonised rules aimed at regulating the behaviour of digital platforms acting as gatekeepers between business users and their customers in the European Union (EU). This approach entails a shift from ex-post anti-trust intervention to ex‑ante regulation, and enshrines a set of ex-ante rules within EU law that will radically change how large digital platforms are allowed to operate in the EU. The European Commission is expected to undertake the designation of gatekeeper platforms in mid‑2023. Compliance enforcement will begin around mid‑2024, with gatekeepers having to adhere to a range of obligations and prohibitions.

Versions

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act)
Committee responsible: Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) COM(2020) 842
15.12.2020
Rapporteur:

Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany)

2020/0374 (COD)
Shadow rapporteurs: René Repasi, (S&D, Germany)
Andrus Ansip (Renew, Estonia)
Virginie Joron (ID, France)
Marcel Kolaja (Greens/EFA, Czechia)
Virginie Joron (ID, France)Adam Bielan (ECR, Poland)
Martin Schirdewan (The Left, Germany)
Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’)
Next steps expected: Regulation 2022/1925

OJ L 265 12.10.2022, pp 1-66.


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