Due to the closed nature of its ecosystem, Apple has been identified as the most affected European Union Digital Markets Act (DMA)However, it is not the only company that could not respect this rule, as the European Commission has announced the opening of five investigations into Apple, Meta and Alphabet (the parent company of Google, which many still call Google today) for possible non-compliance.

The DMA is an ambitious European Union law that aims to limit the power wielded by large corporations that dominate the Internet, prominent among them Google, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Amazon and Booking.com, among others. Following the case of Apple, which seems to have become the most paradigmatic, the DMA forces it to open up its ecosystem to allow the presence of third-party stores, which opens up competition among iOS app providers.

After revealing the most obvious aspects of the DMA, Margrethe Vestager, vice-president of the European Commission, explained in a press release that the institution suspects “that the solutions proposed by the three companies (Apple, Alphabet and Meta) are not fully compatible with the DMA.” “We will now examine how companies comply with the Water Framework Directive to ensure open and competitive digital markets in Europe.”

To explain a bit about each company’s situation, Alphabet and Apple will assess whether the measures they have implemented in their app stores comply with the provisions of the DMAbecause “the Commission is concerned that Alphabet’s and Apple’s measures are not fully consistent” due to the presence of various restrictions and limitations.

Another point Alphabet is exploring is whether visualization Google search results can lead to self-preferences against competing services. It refers to Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels. Here, the European Commission notes that “it is concerned that Alphabet’s measures put in place to comply with the Water Framework Directive do not ensure that third-party services that appear on the Google search results page receive fair and non-discriminatory treatment compared to the services themselves.

Another point leveled at Apple is a classic that has long been decried by supporters of the free software movement: user choice. Here, the Commission notes Apple’s obligations “to allow end users to easily uninstall any software application on iOS, to easily change default settings on iOS, and show users selection screens that should allow them to efficiently and easily choose an alternative default service, such as a browser or search engine, on their iPhones“.

O Soccer goalparent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the Commission points to its “pay or consent” model, “which requires gateway operators to obtain consent from users when attempting to combine or cross-use their personal data across major platforms.” ” and points out that the company could failing to provide a real alternative in the event that the user does not consent, so that the “objective of preventing the collection of personal data by guardians” would not be achieved..

In addition to what has been mentioned, the European Commission is also gathering information and facts that could lead to at least two other investigations, one of which would concern Amazon for favoring its products in its bazaar and the other Apple for its rates and other conditions. “and terms for alternative app stores and web app distribution (downloads) that may defeat the purpose of their obligations.”

The Commission hopes to complete the proceedings commenced today within twelve months and will inform guardians if warranted (porter) influenced by her preliminary conclusions and will explain the measures to be taken, either on their part or by the guardians, to actually comply with the RSV.

Regarding the consequences for companies that do not comply with the DMA, the Commission recalled that “can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover. These fines can reach up to 20% in the case of repeat offenders.. In addition, in cases of systematic violations, the Commission can also take other corrective measures, such as forcing the gatekeeper to sell the company or parts of it, or to prohibit it from obtaining additional services related to the systemic non-compliance.

The European Union has a tradition of passing strong legislation in favor of consumers. In addition to DMA, there is also the universalization of USB Type-C and legislation in favor of replaceable batteries. On the other hand, the European Commission did not hesitate to impose large fines on large multinational companies that did not comply with the rules applicable in the community space.

The Free Software Foundation praised the DMA at the time, but warned that the tech giants would do everything in their power to comply with the minimum if not outright break the law. From what we learned today, it seems he was right.