Today marks a major milestone for Big Tech in Europe as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) officially comes into force. The DMA is the European Union’s plan to curb the market power of GAFAM giants, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple.
The new rules are designed to ensure that these companies do not abuse their dominant positions by unfairly discriminating against competitors or limiting access to markets. It also introduces measures aimed at preventing these firms from using data gathered from customers for anti-competitive purposes.
Under this new legislation, online platforms must be transparent about how they rank search results and display ads; publish information on algorithms used; and allow users to transfer their data between services without being locked in with one provider. Furthermore, it will require them to provide equal treatment of all content providers regardless of whether they are rivals or not – meaning no preferential treatment can be given based on commercial agreements between them either directly or indirectly through intermediaries like advertising agencies, etc.
In addition, there will be an obligation imposed upon large online platforms operating within EU member states – such as Google Play Store – whereby any fees charged must reflect costs incurred rather than creating barriers which would prevent smaller businesses from competing with larger ones that could afford higher charges more easily due to economies of scale advantages held by those bigger players already established within those markets.
Overall this move should help create a fairer digital marketplace across Europe where competition is encouraged instead of stifled by unfair practices employed by tech giants looking to maintain their current monopolistic positions while simultaneously squeezing out potential newcomers trying to enter into similar sectors too!
Read more at TechCrunch
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