Today, March 7, the Digital Markets Act, also known as the DMA, comes into effect. Announced by the European Commission, it will be mandatory in the European Union and has a declared goal “ensure fair and open digital markets”.

The standard defines a set of criteria by which large Internet platforms are to be considered “doorman”. This is where de facto monopolies come in, like the one Microsoft has with Windows; Apple with iOS; Google with its search engine; Amazon in e-commerce or Meta with its social media applications.

The goal of European law prevent large technology companies from exploiting their dominant position to their advantage (as has been happening in practice for years), competition is stimulated and alternatives from other smaller companies are favoured. Also strengthen users’ ability to choose software and services and prevent tracking of advertising data without express consent.

DMA is a step forward, but there is still a lot of work ahead

Large companies have made changes to comply with regulations, but they did not convince. There is no agreement even among the “gatekeepers” themselves, and they condemn each other for not following the letter and spirit of the WFD. Apple is the most contested case, but the match with the rest has to be assessed. There are serious doubts that this rule alone will end anti-competitive behavior and that the freedom of consumer choice is as real as the rule advocates.

The Free Software Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes free software, believes this regulation is positive, but should only be the beginning of broader regulation. “The DMA represents a bold step by the EU to regulate large companies that act as gatekeepers. However, proper implementation of the law will be challenging and will require strict measures.”explains the director of the FSF legal program.

According to them, DMA is only the first step and an open Internet needs a device neutrality that doesn’t exist now. The European FSF launched the Device Neutrality website to defend what they see as key rights:

• Run the free software on all devices, mobile, desktop or other devices.
• Freedom from vendor-dictated rules that limit how the device is used.
• And data portability.

The FSF understands that the movement’s defense does not end with this rule, as the Digital Markets Act is only intended for tech giants. “We believe that this type of commitment should also apply to smaller players in the market, because [hay pequeñas empresas] which at the same time limit the possibilities and freedoms of end users to install and uninstall software on your devices».

The need for continuous promotion can also be seen in the message [PDF] from Japan’s digital competition regulator, which takes a dim view of the concessions it believes the DMA has allowed companies like Apple: “While the DMA aims to promote competition and fairness, Apple’s proposed changes may strengthen its monopolistic behavior by restricting software freedom, increasing the dependence of developers and users on its own services and products, and increasing costs”.

There is a lot to do to change the monopolistic behavior that dominant companies have practiced in their respective domain sectors for decades. «We believe that DMA is not enough and we need to extend these types of rules beyond DMA«The FSF concludes with a view that is generally shared.