The European Commission has announced six companies that fall under the gatekeeper status, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. Moving forward, these six companies have a six-month period to adjust their business practices according to the newly implemented regulations.
Gatekeeper status, as defined by the Digital Markets Act, is given to large companies that have a significant impact on the overall economy, possess a large user base or customer base, and have the ability to protect their own position strongly. Companies that are classified under this category will be required to open their platforms to allow other service providers to compete. Additionally, they must not favor their own services over services provided by external providers, such as forcibly installing certain apps without the option of uninstalling them.
These six companies have been classified as gatekeepers in various markets, including online social media, messaging platforms, intermediaries/platforms, advertising, web browsers, computer operating systems, and search services.
Previously, Apple and Microsoft argued in a written statement that their services, iMessage, Bing, and Microsoft Advertising, were not included in the scope. Therefore, these two services are still under investigation and are excluded from the current announcement.
TLDR: The European Commission has identified six companies, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, as gatekeepers and given them a six-month period to align their business practices with newly implemented regulations. Gatekeeper status imposes requirements on companies to open their platforms for competition and refrain from favoring their services over external providers. These companies are considered gatekeepers in various markets, and the services iMessage, Bing, and Microsoft Advertising are still under investigation.
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