The World Briefly

March 28, 2022

When Size Matters

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European Union officials agreed to clamp down on anti-trust abuses by the world’s biggest tech companies, a major step that will serve as a model for leveling the playing field in global digital markets, Politico said.

The European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the Digital Market Act, which will implement a series of prohibitions and regulations for large technology firms, such as Google and Facebook, as well as a number of smaller platforms.

Platforms with a market value of more than $80 billion or a turnover in the European Economic Area topping $8 billion will be covered by the guidelines.

The new rules for the so-called gatekeeper platforms will include restrictions on combining private data from various sources, mandates to allow users to install apps from third-party platforms, and a restriction on self-preferencing practices.

They will also order messaging services – such as WhatsApp and iMessage – to open up and interoperate with smaller messaging platforms.

Breaching the new regulations could force companies to pay penalties up to 10 percent of annual worldwide turnover for initial infractions, and up to 20 percent afterward.

European lawmaker Andreas Schwab said the new deal will put “an end to the ever-increasing dominance of Big Tech companies.”

The Digital Market Act comes after years of long anti-trust cases against tech companies, such as Google and Facebook.

This story originally appeared in the March 28, 2022 newsletter, Just Business.